Logical Fallacies Flashcards
What is a logical fallacy
Logical fallacies are flawed, deceptive, or false arguments that can be proven wrong with reasoning.
Ad Hominem
An ad hominem fallacy uses personal attacks rather than logic.
Straw Man
A straw man argument attacks a different subject rather than the topic being discussed.
Appeal to Ignorance
An appeal to ignorance that a proposition must be true because it has not been proven false or there is no evidence against it.
False Dilemma
A false dilemma presents limited options when in fact more possibilities exist.
Slippery Slope
A slippery slope argument assumes that a certain course of action will necessarily lead to unlikely or ridiculous outcomes with no supporting evidence.
Circular Argument
Circular arguments occur when a person’s argument repeats what they already assumed before without arriving at a new conclusion.
Hasty Generalization
A hasty generalization is a claim based on a few examples rather than substantial proof.
Red Herring
A red herring is an argument that uses confusion or distraction to shift attention away from a topic and toward a false conclusion.
Appeal to Hypocrisy
An appeal to hypocrisy focuses on the hypocrisy of an opponent. The fallacy deflects criticism away from oneself by accusing the other person of the same problem or something comparable.
Causal Fallacy
Causal fallacies are informal fallacies that occur when an argument incorrectly concludes that a cause is related to an effect.
Sunk Cost
A sunk cost fallacy is when someone continues doing something because of the effort they already put in it, regardless of whether the additional costs outweigh the potential benefits.
Appeal to Authority
Appeal to authority is the misuse of an authority’s opinion to support an argument.
Equivocation
Equivocation happens when a word, phrase, or sentence is used deliberately to confuse, deceive, or mislead.
Appeal to Pity
An appeal to pity relies on provoking your emotions to win an argument rather than factual evidence.
