Fallacies: Situational Analysis Flashcards
Professor Doogie has argued for more emphasis on music in our F2F classes to facilitate creativity. But Doogie is a selfish bigheaded fool. I absolutely refuse to listen to him.
Ad Hominem
Personal Attack
Donald Trump has argued that we need to build a new campus. But Trump is the owner of Trump’s Construction Company. He’ll make a fortune if his company is picked to build the new campus. Obviously, Trump’s argument is a lot of self-serving nonsense.
Attacking the Motive
Doctor: You should quite smoking.
Patient: Look who’s talking! I’ll quit when you do, Dr. Smokestack!
Look Who’s Talking
“Why pick on me, officer? Everyone else is using drugs.”
Two Wrongs Make a Right
I’m sure you’ll agree that we are the rightful rulers of the Iraq. It would be regrettable if we had to send armed forces to demonstrate the validity of our claim.
Scare Tactics
I know I missed half your classes and failed all my quizzes and assignments. First my cat died. Then my girlfriend told me she has found someone else. With all I went through this semester, I don’t think I really deserve an F. Any chance you might cut me some slack and change my grade to a C or a D?
Ad Misericordiam
Appeal to Pity
All the really cool UNITAR students smoke cigarettes. Therefore, you should, too.
Bandwagon
Singh and Karen are arguing about cleaning out their closets:
❑ Suzie: “We should clean out the closets. They are getting a bit messy.“
❑ Singh: “Why, we just went through those closets last year. Do we have
to clean them out everyday?”
❑ Suzie: “I never said anything about cleaning them out every day. You just want too keep all your junk forever, which is just ridiculous.”
Straw Man
“I think there is great merit in making the requirements stricter for the graduate students. I recommend that you support it, too. After all, we are in a budget crisis and we do not want our salaries affected.”
Red Herring
In the summer of 1940, Londoners were bombed almost every night. To be bombed is to be intoxicated. Therefore, in the summer of 1940, Londoners were intoxicated almost every night.
Equivocation
I am entitled to say whatever I choose because I have a right to say whatever I please.
Begging the Question
I’m trying hard to understand this guy who identifies himself as a security supervisor and criticizes the police officers in this area. I can only come up with two solutions. One, he is either a member of the criminal element, or two, he is a frustrated security guard who can never make it as a police officer and figures he can take cheap shots at cops through the newspaper.
Ad Hominem
Personal Attack
The Red Cross is worried about the treatment of the suspected terrorists held by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. What do they want the U.S. to do with them, put them on the beaches of Florida for a vacation or take them skiing in the Rockies? Come on, let’s worry about the Americans.
Straw Man
My dentist told me that aliens built the lost city of Atlantis. So, it’s reasonable to believe that aliens did build the lost city of Atlantis.
Inappropriate Appeal to Authority
You should give me whatever I want or else I will tell my father, who is a military general, to arrest you and put you in jail.
Appeal to Power
Yoda must exist. No one has proved that he
doesn’t exist.
Ad Ignorantium
Appeal to Ignorance
The choice in this MPM election is clear: Either we elect Zubaidah as our next president, or we watch our MPM unity slide into anarchy and frustration. Clearly, we don’t want that to happen. Therefore, we should elect Zubaidah as our next president.
False Alternatives
Lee: Are you still friends with that loser Richard?
Ali: Yes.
Lee: Well, at least you admit he’s a total loser.
Loaded Question
Sarah gets a chain letter that threatens her with dire consequences if she breaks the chain. She laughs at it and throws it in the garbage. On her way to work she slips and breaks his arm. When she gets back from the hospital she sends out 200 copies of the chain letter, hoping to avoid further accidents.
False Cause
Post Hoc
Norwegians are lazy. I have two friends who are from there, and both of them never prepare for class, or do their homework.
Hasty Generalization
“The Malaysian militarily shouldn’t get involved in other countries. Once the government sends in a few troops, it will then send in thousands to die.”
Slippery Slope
Nobody would buy a car without first taking it for a test drive.
Why then shouldn’t two mature UNITAR students live together before they decide whether to get married?
Weak Analogy
Note found in a Forest Service Suggestion box: Park visitors need to know how important it is to keep this wilderness area completely pristine and undisturbed. So why not put up a few signs to remind people of this fact?
Inconsistency
They are Senior High School students. You can’t trust
them to do things like a college student.
Composition
