Logical Fallacies Flashcards
Category: Snap-Decision
Name: Either/ Or
When the argument suggests that there are only two options or potential outcomes, usually the intent is to lead the audience to believe that one of the outcomes is the obvious “correct” choice
EX:
Someone turns in an exam early.
1) Understood everything
OR
2) Understood nothing
Category: Snap-Decision
Name: Hasty Generalization
Making a rushed conclusion without considering all of the facts or variables, stereotypes are a particularly gross form of hasty generalization.
EX:
You meet some polite children. Therefore, every child is polite.
Category: Snap-Decision
Name: Appeals to ignorance
Saying something isn’t true because there isn’t enough evidence to the contrary
EX:
God doesn’t exist because you can’t prove that he does
Category: The “People”
Name: Bandwagon Appeal
The main premise of the argument is that many people believe it or agree with it or do it so it must be true/good/acceptable
EX:
Over a million Australians have already tried Oral-B toothpaste
Category: The “People”
Name: Authority Fallacy
The entire premise of the argument is that a famous person believes it so it must be true, or if your endorser doesn’t have anything to do with your topic of argument
EX:
Taylor Swift saying that jumping off a bridge is a good thing
Category: The “People”
Name: Ad Hominem
Attacking a person’s character or credentials instead of addressing the real argument they are making
EX:
You’re a stinky poo butt-head
Category: The “People”
Name: Slippery Slope
Suggesting that taking a minor action will lead to major and sometimes ridiculous consequences
EX:
Not being patriotic means treason which will lead us to a civil war
Category: That’s a Stretch
Name: False Causality
The assumption that because one event followed another, the first caused the second
EX:
I went to go eat there the other day and got really sick the next day, so you shouldn’t go there either if you don’t want to get sick.
Category: That’s a Stretch
Name: Weak Analogy
When an analogy is used to prove or disprove an argument, but the analogy is too dissimilar to be effective, it is unlike the argument
EX:
Schools are a lot like businesses, and students are the customers so we must always assume that they are right.
Category: Look Over There!
Name: Appeal to pity / Pathos
When the appeal to pathos is the basis of the argument
EX:
For only 60 cents a day you can change the world
Category: Look Over There!
Name: Straw Man
If you are arguing something related to the topic, but avoiding the ACTUAL topic, aka irrelevancy, it is a straw man argument.
EX:
If you we lower the voting age, then little kids would be picking our nation and will make it better! (/s)
Category: Look Over There!
Name: Non-sequitur fallacy
A conclusion or a statement that doesn’t logically follow from the previous argument or statement
Ex:
People enjoy walking on beaches, so we should replace the flooring in our homes with beach sand!
