Logical Fallacies

Question 1

Ad Hominem Abusive

Answer 1

[Personal Attack] “against the person” When a claim is rejected based on alleged character flaws or a negative stereotype of the person making the claim.

Question 2

Ad Hominem Circumstantial

Answer 2

[Personal Attack] When a claim is rejected based on the life circumstances of the person making the claim.

Question 3

Tu Quoque

Answer 3

[Personal Attack] “you, too”
A type of ad hominem fallacy that occurs when a person
avoids the issue at hand by claiming the other person is a
hypocrite.

Question 4

Poisoning the Well

Answer 4

[Personal Attack] When a person is attacked before having a chance to present a case

Question 5

Appeal to the People

Answer 5

[Emotional Appeals] Occurs when an argument manipulates a desire to belong to a group so the listener will accept the conclusion.

Question 6

Appeal to Pity

Answer 6

[Emotional Appeals] An emotional plea that relies solely on a sense of pity for support.

Question 7

Appeal to Fear or Force

Answer 7

[Emotional Appeals] A threat of harmful consequences (physical or otherwise) used to force acceptance of a course of action that would otherwise be unacceptable.

Question 8

Begging the Question

Answer 8

[Unwarranted Assumption] “assume at the beginning”
Assumes as evidence in the premises the very thing
that it attempts to prove in the conclusion.

Question 9

Complex Question

Answer 9

[Unwarranted Assumption] A single question that actually contains multiple parts
and an unestablished hidden assumption.

Question 10

Appeal to Ignorance

Answer 10

[Unwarranted Assumption] An argument built on a position of ignorance claiming either:
1. a statement must be true because it has not been proven to be false
or
2. a statement must be false because it has not been proven to be true.

Question 11

Appeal to an Unqualified Authority

Answer 11

[Unwarranted Assumption] Relies on the opinions of people who have no expertise, training, or knowledge relevant to the issue at hand.

Question 12

False Dichotomy

Answer 12

[Unwarranted Assumption] A fallacy that occurs when it is assumed that only two
choices are possible, when in fact others exist.

Question 13

Equivocation

Answer 13

[Diversion] The intentional or unintentional use of different
meanings of words or phrases in an argument.

Question 14

Straw Man

Answer 14

[Diversion] Occurs when someone’s written or spoken words are taken out
of context, purposely distorting the original argument to create
a new, weak argument that can be easily refuted (a straw man
that is easily knocked down).

Question 15

Red Herring

Answer 15

[Diversion] Occurs when someone completely ignores an opponent’s position and changes the subject, diverting the discussion in a new direction.

Question 16

Misleading Precision

Answer 16

[Diversion] A claim that appears to be statistically significant, but is not.

Question 17

Missing the Point

Answer 17

[Diversion] When premises that seem to lead logically to one
conclusion are used instead to support an unexpected conclusion

Question 18

Rigid Use of a Generalization

Answer 18

[Weak Inductive Argument] From the general to the specific. When a generalization is believed to be universal and is inappropriately applied to an a case that is an exception

Question 19

Hasty Generalization

Answer 19

[Weak Inductive Argument] From the specific to the general
An argument that relies on a small sample that is unlikely to
represent the population.

Question 20

Composition

Answer 20

[Weak Inductive Argument] The mistaken transfer of (1) an attribute of the individual parts of an object to the object as a whole or (2) an attribute of the individual members of a class
to the class itself.

Question 21

Division

Answer 21

[Weak Inductive Argument] The mistaken transfer of (1) an attribute of an object as
a whole to the individual parts of the object or (2) an attribute of a class to the individual members of the class.

Question 22

Biased Sample

Answer 22

[Weak Inductive Argument] Uses a nonrepresentative sample as support for a statistical claim about an entire population.

Question 23

Post Hoc (Coincidence)

Answer 23

[Weak Inductive Argument, False Cause] Involves a short-term pattern noticed after the fact:
X occurred before Y, therefore X caused Y. , Results from the accidental or chance connection
between two events.

Question 24

Post Hoc (Common Cause)

Answer 24

[Weak Inductive Argument, False Cause] Involves a short-term pattern noticed after the fact:
X occurred before Y, therefore X caused Y. Occurs when one event is assumed to cause another when both events are the result of a common cause.

Question 25

Slippery Slope

Answer 25

[Weak Inductive Argument, False Cause] Attempts to make a final event the inevitable outcome
of an initial act.