informal fallacies Flashcards
slippery slope
minor action -> major consequence
argument that suggests taking a minor action will lead to major and ludicrous consequences
e.g. can’t unlock kid from house -> they’ll want to roam the neighbourhood -> stranger will kidnap her -> she’ll be sold to sex slavery
therefore, we should keep kid in house
circular argument / begging the question / circular reasoning
claim is both premise and conclusion
when the premises of an argument assume the truth of the conclusion, instead of supporting it
IF A THEN B, IF B THEN A
e.g. Hitler was evil because he was immoral
loaded question
can’t deny assumptions in question
wording of question limits possible responses, doesn’t allow the answer to deny the assumptions in a question
e.g. have you stopped starving your pets?
assumption: they were previously starving their pets
false cause / post hoc ergo propter hoc
after event, therefore, event
when someone argues that because an event follows another,, it must have been caused by the first event
link between premise and conclusion depends on casual connection that probably doesn’t exist
e.g. we only started losing after you joined the team
strawman
distorts point and exaggerates
misrepresenting, misconstruction, or over simplifying another person’s argument. rather than arguing against what they’re saying, you build a “strawman” and attack it
e.g. “some of Donald Trump’s actions have merit”
“you support racism”
black and white fallacy / false dilemma
one or the other
limited alternatives are considered (often the extremes) when there are in fact additional options. only 2 choices (black/white) are given
e.g. you’re either with us or against us
ad hominen
attacking person, not argument
attacking a persons character rather than what they are saying, with intention to divert discussions and ultimately discrediting the persons argument:
person A = claim X
person B = insult person A
therefore, A’s claim is false
e.g. “you should mow the lawn”
“you should mow your face”
tu quoque / illicit appeal to hypocrisy
points our hypocrisy of other people
reference to the hypocrisy of opponent for saying one thing and doing something different. happens when trying to show that they - the other person - is at fault, someone points out they are just as bad
e.g. what do you mean I should drive with my seatbelt? you don’t
faulty analogy
because things share one characteristic, they must share others
assumption about two things because they are alike. alike in one aspect = alike in others
e.g. gamblers and stock traders risk money for profit
stock trading = gambling
hasty generalisation
applying a belief to a larger population than they should based on the information they have
e.g. my ex-wife was hard to live with, so all women are hard to live with
ad populum / illicit appeal to popular opinion / bandwagon
popular opinions/whatever majority of people think must be correct
e.g. everyone has a car. you should get one too
illicit appeal to nature
something is good because it is natural
e.g. herbal medicines are better than antibiotics as they are natural
ad misericordiam / illicit appeal to emotion
provoking irrelevant feelings of sympathy
e.g. the murderer can’t go jail, his mother will be sad
ad verecundian / illicit appeal to wrong authority
believing anything from someone you love
you accept a truth on blind faith because someone you like or admire said it
e.g. timothee chalamet said unicorns exist
i LOVE timothee chalamet, so unicorns exist
gambler’s fallacy
predicting future from past events
random happenings are more or less likely to occur because of the frequency with which they have occurred in the past
e.g. team A won the last 3 games, they’ll lose next
