Logical Fallacies Flashcards
Misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.
Strawman
Presuming that a real or perceived relationship between things means that one is the cause of the other.
False Cause
Manipulating an emotional response in place of a valid or compelling argument
Appeal to emotion
Presuming that because a claim has been poorly argued, or a fallacy has been made, it is wrong.
The fallacy fallacy
Asserting that if we allow A to happen then Z will consequently happen too, therefore A should not happen.
Slippery Slope
Attacking your opponent’s character or personal traits in an attempt to undermine their argument.
Ad hominem
Avoiding having to engage with criticism by turning it back on the accuser- answering criticism with criticism.
Tu Quoque
Saying that because one finds something difficult to understand that it’s therefore not true.
Personal Incredulity
Moving the goalposts to create exceptions when a claim is shown to be false
Special Pleading
Asking a question that has a loaded assumption built into it so it can’t be answered without appearing guilty
Loaded Question
Saying that the burden of proof lies not with the person making the claim, but with someone else to disprove
Burden of proof
Using double meanings of language to mislead or misrepresent the truth
Ambiguity
Believing that runs occur to statistically independent phenomena such as roulette wheel spins
The gambler’s fallacy
Appealing to popularity or the fact that many people do something as an attempted form of validation
Bandwagon
Using the opinion or position of an authority figure or institution of authority in place of an actual argument
Appeal to authority
Assuming that what’s true about one part of something has to be applied to all, or other parts of it
Composition/Division
Making what could be called an appeal to purity as a way to dismiss relevant criticisms or flaws of an argument.
No true scotsman
Judging something good or bad on the basis of where it comes from, or from whom it comes.
Genetic
Where two alternative states are presented as the only possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist.
Black-or-white
A circular argument in which the conclusion is included in the premise.
Begging the question
Making the argument that because something is ‘natural’ it is therefore valid, justified, inevitable, good, or ideal
Appeal to nature
Using personal experiences or an isolated example instead of a valid argument, especially to dismiss statistics.
Anecdotal
Saying that a compromise, or middle point, between two extremes is the truth
Middle ground
Cherry-picking data clusters to suit an argument, or finding a pattern to fit a presumption.
The Texas sharpshooter
