Informal Fallacies Flashcards
Fallacies of Adequacy
Support that is not satisfactorily adequate
Amphiboly
When support for an argument is based on a grammatical ambiguity
Begging the Question
When an arguer uses as a premise of his argument, any proposition which his opponent explicitly rejects
Circular Reasoning
Presupposing exactly the facts that need to be shown
Red Herring
Where an irrelevant point is introduced in order to draw attention away from what actually is at issue
Strawman
A red herring where the irrelevant point is a misrepresentation of the argument’s topic
Ad Hominem
Attacking the person presenting the argument instead of arguing the point.
Five types:
1) Abusive: the attack is an insult against the person presenting the argument
2) Circumstantial: the attack is based on circumstances about the person presenting the argument
3) Pseudorefutation: claims of hypocrisy
4) Poisoning the Well: ad hominem in advance
5) Genetic Fallacy: rejecting a claim simply because it comes from a certain source
Appeal to Ignorance
Drawing a conclusion based on an appeal to ignorance
Burden of proof
Appeal to Popularity
Drawing a conclusion based on an appeal to popular belief
Appeal to Fear or Force
Drawing a conclusion because of coercion based on fear or force
Appeals to Pity or Mercy
Drawing a conclusion because of coercion based on pity or mercy
Fallacy of Composition
When reasoning which applies to parts is applied to wholes
Fallacy of Division
When reasoning which applies to wholes is applied to parts
False Dilemma
When one is asked to pick the best of two bad choices
Naturalistic Fallacy
Arguing that because something is natural it’s good or right
