Logical Fallacies Flashcards
Ad hominem fallacy?
An argument that addresses the character, motives, or personal attributes of someone instead of the content of their argument.
e.g “You don’t know anything about speech disorders! You don’t have one yourself!”
Anecdotal evidence fallacy?
Using a personal experience or rare example instead of substantive evidence or sound logic.
e.g Person A: Smoking is bad for your health.
Person B: No, it’s not! My grandpa smoked, and he died at 98!
Appeal to authority fallacy?
A claim that your statement is true because a figure of (false or anonymous) authority made it.
e.g Person A: I’m going to try a new medication for my migraines.
Person B: According to scientists, the best way to alleviate migraines is by using essential oils.
Appeal to ignorance fallacy?
A claim that your statement is true because it has not been proven false. Or claiming that something is false because it has not been proven true.
e.g Person A: You should try this new medication.
Person B: Is it safe for children?
Person A: There’s no evidence that it isn’t, so you should try it.
Appeal to pity fallacy?
An attempt to convince your audience by provoking a feeling of guilt or pity with your argument.
e.g “You should buy this bike, because I put so much work into restoring it after my father passed away.”
Bandwagon fallacy (ad populum, appeal to popular opinion)?
A claim that something is true because it’s the opinion of the majority.
e.g “Of course you should buy an iPhone. 1.5 billion people can’t be wrong!”
Burden of proof fallacy?
Making a claim but evading the burden of proof by pretending that you’ve fulfilled it or by proposing that the other person is responsible for disproving your claim.
e.g Person A: We should invest in a social media campaign!
Person B: Why?
Person A: Why not?
Circular reasoning fallacy?
Using a statement to prove the reasons for the statement (A is true because B is true, and B is true because A is true).
e.g Person A: Jesse said Marc is very friendly, because he’s very nice.
Person B: Did he say what’s so nice about him?
Person A: He’s very friendly!
Correlation-causation fallacy?
You assume a cause-and-effect relationship because two things are correlated (in reality, correlation does not imply causation).
e.g The sun is shining, and there have been more burglaries than usual. It’s clear that the sun causes people to steal.
Equivocation fallacy?
Using a word or phrase in your argument that can mean two things or causes ambiguity in a different way.
e.g “Fries are unhealthy. Apple fries are fries, so they must be unhealthy.”
False dilemma fallacy (false dichotomy fallacy)?
You suggest there are only two sides to a debate or dilemma when there are many more.
e.g “If I don’t buy the expensive new headphones, I’ll have to use the old, broken ones.”
Hasty generalization fallacy (overgeneralization fallacy)?
Making a claim based on very little evidence or on evidence that’s not representative.
e.g “Two people I know experienced headaches after getting vaccinated, so vaccines cause headaches.”
Loaded question fallacy?
Asking a question that contains a controversial or subjective assumption that makes the other person feel guilty or attacked, making it difficult for them to answer honestly.
e.g “So you’re going to marry that cheating boyfriend?”
Middle ground fallacy (argument to moderation)?
Suggesting that the truth is always a compromise between two opposing or extreme opinions or positions.
e.g Person A: Nobody should drive while under the influence of alcohol.
Person B: Actually, drunk driving is totally fine.
Person C: I guess that some people should drive drunk, and others shouldn’t.
No true Scotsman fallacy?
You make a generalization about a group, but when confronted with contradictory evidence, you suggest that that case is not representative of the group you were generalizing about.
e.g Person A: All redheaded people have higher pain tolerance.
Person B: Mary is a redhead, and she has very low pain tolerance.
Person A: That doesn’t count! She’s strawberry blonde and not a true redhead.
Post hoc (ergo propter hoc) fallacy?
A claim that one event is the result of another event, simply because they one happened after the other.
e.g “You sneezed, and then Susy got sick. You infected her!”
Red herring fallacy?
You try to redirect a conversation away from its original topic by introducing an irrelevant piece of information to distract the reader or listener.
e.g Police officer: I’ve pulled you over for speeding.
Offender: You shouldn’t be wasting your time on me; there are murderers out there!
Slippery slope fallacy?
A claim that an initial event or action will trigger a series of other events and lead to an extreme, undesirable outcome.
e.g Person A: We should lower the legal drinking age.
Person B: No! If we do that, we’ll have 10-year-olds getting drunk in bars!
Straw man fallacy?
Distorting someone else’s argument to make it easier to attack or refute, because you’re not addressing their actual argument.
e.g Person A: We should increase benefits for unemployed single mothers during the first year after childbirth.
Person B: So you believe we should incentivize women to become single mothers and live off the tax money of hardworking citizens?
Sunk cost fallacy?
Making an irrational, suboptimal decision to continue with an action or project because of past investments.
e.g “This movie is so boring, but we might as well keep watching. We’re already 30 minutes in!”
Gish gallop?
Attempting to overwhelm an opponent by presenting an excessive number of arguments, with no regard for their accuracy or strength, with a rapidity that makes it impossible for the opponent to address them in the time available.
Argument from adverse consequences?
A logical fallacy that claims an argument is false because it would have negative consequences if it were true.
Special pleading?
A logical fallacy that occurs when someone claims an exception to a rule or principle without providing adequate justification. It’s a type of informal fallacy that involves applying a double standard.
E.g “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”
Begging the question/assuming the answer?
A logical fallacy that occurs when an argument’s premises assume the truth of the conclusion without supporting it. It is an example of circular reasoning.
E.g “Drugs are illegal so they must be bad for you. Therefore, we ought not legalize drugs because drugs are bad for you.”
Non sequitur?
A logical fallacy that occurs when a conclusion does not logically follow from the evidence or premises of an argument. The term non sequitur is Latin for “it does not follow”.
E.g “Dogs have wet noses, and rabbits have wet noses; therefore, dogs eat rabbits”
Weasel words?
Words or phrases aimed at creating an impression that something specific and meaningful has been said, when in fact only a vague, ambiguous, or irrelevant claim has been communicated.
E.g “some people say”, “it is thought”, and “researchers believe”.
Meaningless question?
A question that cannot be answered with any logical reasoning.
E.g Asking someone, “Where did you hide the evidence?” or “When did you stop beating your wife?” during cross-examination.
