Logical Fallacies Flashcards
You too - Tu Quoque
Appeal to hypocrisy, redirect by focusing on the speaker
Argument to Logic - Argumentum Ad Logicam
Assuming a claim is fake because one of the arguments in support of it is wrong
Cum Hoc ergo Propter Hoc
With This, Therefore Because of This - fallacy of assuming that because two things are true, one must have caused the other
Post Hoc ergo Propter Hoc
After This, Therefore Because of This - fallacy of assuming that because one event happened before another, the first event must have caused the second
Appeal to Ridicule - Ad Ridiculum
When someone invalidates a statement by using unreasonable or exaggerated claims: mockery, distorting words
Appeal to Nature
saying that one decision is better than another just because it follows nature’s laws
Appeal to the Public - Argumentum Ad Populum
appealing to what most people think/like/believe instead of backing with evidence
Argument from Personal Incredulity
Argument based on your own belief: if you think it’s true, it must be true
Argument of Repetition - Argumentum Ad Nauseam
repeating an argument over and over to establish veracity
Appeal to Authority - Argumentum Ad Verecundiam
appealing to an authority to prove a point: just bc the president thinks so, it’s true
Argument to Tradition - Argumentum ad Antiquitatem
“it has always been this way” as evidence
Argument Directed at the Person - Argumentum ad Hominem
When someone attacks a person in an argument rather than the point they argue
Begging the Question - Petitio Principii
assuming that the statement is true based on improper proof - leads to questioning premises
Non Sequitur
A conclusion is drawn from a fact that does not logically follow
Circular Argument - Circulus in Demonstrando
making the assumption you are trying to prove: chocolate is good because it tastes good!
Destroying the exception - Dicto Simpliciter ad Dictum Secundum Quid
when an exception is treated as a general truth
Argument to ignorance -Argumentum ad Ignorantiam
assuming something is true bc it has not been proven to be false
Argument to Pity - Argumentum ad Misericoridam
ignoring the logical side of the statement by appealing to the emotional side
Straw Man Fallacy
distortion of someone else’s argument to make it easier to attack or refute: an apple a day keeps the doc away –> so you’re saying apples are the only thing people should eat??
Red Herring Fallacy
Deliberate piece of misleading/ distracting information in a story or argument
Complex Question - Plurium Interrogationum
Question with a built-in presentation presupposition that is impossible to answer with a yes or no
Slippery Slope Argument
saying that if we allow A to happen, then Z will consequently happen too; therefore A should not happen.
ex: If we allow students to wear hats in class, soon they will be demanding to wear pajamas, and then there will be no discipline in the classroom at all.
