Logical Fallacies Flashcards
false cause
Presuming that a real or perceived relationship between things means that one is the cause of the other.
> Pointing to a fancy chart, Roger shows how temperatures have been rising over the past few centuries, whilst at the same time the numbers of
pirates have been decreasing; thus pirates cool the world and global warming is a hoax.
strawman
Misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.
> After Will said that we should put more money into health and education, Warren responded by saying that he was surprised that Will hates our country so much that he wants to leave it defenceless by cutting military spending.
slippery slope
Asserting that if we allow A to happen, then Z will consequently happen too, therefore A should not happen.
> Colin Closet asserts that if we allow same-sex couples to marry, then the next thing we know we’ll be allowing people to marry their parents, their cars and even monkeys.
ad hominem
Attacking your opponent’s character or personal traits in an attempt to
undermine their argument.
> After Sally presents an eloquent and compelling case for a more equitable taxation system, Sam asks the audience whether we should believe anything from a woman who isn’t married, was once arrested, and smells a bit weird.
special pleading
Moving the goalposts to create exceptions when a claim is shown to be false.
> Edward Johns claimed to be psychic, but when his ‘abilities’ were tested under proper scientific conditions, they magically disappeared. Edward explained this saying that one had to have faith in his abilities for them to work.
loaded question
Asking a question that has an assumption built into it so that it can’t be answered without appearing guilty.
> Grace and Helen were both romantically interested in Brad. One day, with Brad sitting within earshot, Grace asked in an inquisitive tone whether Helen was having any problems with a fungal infection.
the gambler’s fallacy
Believing that ‘runs’ occur to statistically independent phenomena such as roulette
wheel spins.
> Red had come up six times in a row on the roulette wheel, so Greg knew that it was close to certain that black would be next up. Suering an economic form of natural selection with this thinking, he soon lost all of his savings.
bandwagon
Appealing to popularity or the fact that many people do something as an attempted form of validation.
> Shamus pointed a drunken finger at Sean and asked him to explain how so many people could believe in leprechauns if they’re only a silly old superstition. Sean, however, had had a few too many Guinness himself and fell o his chair.
black-or-white
Where two alternative states are presented as the only possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist.
> Whilst rallying support for his plan to fundamentally undermine citizens’ rights, the Supreme Leader told the people they were either on his side, or on the side of the enemy.
begging the question
A circular argument in which the conclusion is included in the premise.
> The word of Zorbo the Great is flawless and perfect. We know this because it says so in The Great and Infallible Book of Zorbo’s Best and Most Truest Things that are Definitely True and Should Not Ever Be Questioned.
appeal to authority
Using the opinion or position of an authority figure, or institution of authority, in place of an actual argument.
> Not able to defend his position that evolution ‘isn’t true’ Bob says that he knows a scientist who also questions evolution (and presumably isn’t a primate).
appeal to nature
Making the argument that because something is ‘natural’ it is therefore valid, justified, inevitable, good, or ideal.
> The medicine man rolled into town on his bandwagon oering various natural remedies, such as very special
plain water. He said that it was only natural that people should be wary of ‘artificial’ medicines such as antibiotics.
composition/division
Assuming that what’s true about one part of something has to be applied to all, or other, parts of it.
> Daniel was a precocious child and had a liking for logic. He reasoned that atoms are invisible, and that he was made of atoms and therefore invisible too. Unfortunately, despite his thinky skills, he lost the game of hide and go seek.
anecdotal
Using personal experience or an isolated example instead of a valid argument, especially to dismiss statistics.
Jason said that that was all cool and everything, but his grandfather smoked, like, 30 cigarettes a day and lived until 97 - so don’t believe everything you read about meta analyses of sound studies showing proven causal relationships.
appeal to emotion
Manipulating an emotional response in place of a valid or compelling argument.
> Luke didn’t want to eat his sheep’s brains with chopped liver and brussels sprouts, but his father told him to think about the poor, starving children in a third world country who weren’t fortunate enough to have any food at all.
