Lesson 33: Fallacies of Distraction Flashcards
What is an informal fallacy?
An informal fallacy is a popular but invalid (or unhelpful) form of argument.
What is a fallacy of distraction?
A fallacy of distraction is an argument that confuses the issue by pointing to information that is actually irrelevant to the cause.
What are the eight fallacies of distraction?
- Ipse Dixit
- Ad Populum
- Ad Baculum
- Ad Hominem
- Bulverism
- Tu Quoque
- Ad Ignorantiam
- Chronological Snobbery
What is an Ipse dixit fallacy?
Ipse dixit is an illegitimate appeal to authority.
Ipse dixit: “Henry Schwartz says there is no Creator, and therefore, there is no Creator.”
Not ipse dixit: “The Bible says God is the Creator, and therefore, God is the Creator.”
What is an Ad populum fallacy?
Ad populum is an illegitimate appeal to a majority.
Ad populum: “This story must be truly great—it’s a bestseller!”
Not ad populum: “Everyone has found the Bible to be a profitable book—you should read it too.”
What is an Ad baculum fallacy?
Ad baculum is an illegitimate appeal to force.
Ad baculum: “If you don’t vote for Senator Snoutsnuffle, the ozone layer will be destroyed in six months, and we will all die!”
Not ad baculum: “If you do not see the wisdom of our laws against murder, perhaps you will be influenced by our death penalty…”
What is an Ad hominem fallacy?
Ad hominem is a verbal attack on a person rather than his argument.
Ad hominem: “Yes, we know that you maintain that the sun rises in the east every morning. But we also know that you’re a jerk.”
Not ad hominem: “How can we believe your testimony? You’ve been convicted of perjury three times in the past two years.”
What is a Bulverism fallacy?
Bulverism is attacking a position by pointing out how the arguer came to hold it.
Bulverism: “You are saying that infants shouldn’t be baptized because you grew up in a Baptist home.”
Not bulverism: “You are running for Congress as a Democrat today but yesterday you lost the Republican primary. You are just maintaining the Democratic platform because of a personal ambition.”
What is a Tu quoque fallacy?
Tu quoque points to an inconsistency between a person’s argument and behavior.
Tu quoque: “Don’t tell me I can’t smuggle cocaine—you do it too!”
Not tu quoque: “Why are you telling me it’s wrong to read fiction? You do it too.”
What is an Ad ignorantiam fallacy?
Ad ignorantiam is an argument from lack of evidence.
Ad ignorantiam: “UFOs must be alien spaceships. The government has never offered any other satisfactory explanation.
Not ad ignorantiam: “I remind the jury that my client is innocent until proven guilty.”
What is a Chronological snobbery fallacy?
Chronological snobbery is an argument based merely on the passage of time.
Chronological snobbery: “Categorical logic may have worked for Aristotle, but it’s outdated now.”
Not chronological snobbery: “I think that we should be more careful before we dismiss something our ancestors have done for centuries.”
