Logical Fallacies Flashcards
Slippery Slope
A fallacy in which a person asserts that some event must inevitably follow from another without any argument for the inevitability of the event in question.
Ex.
Direct TV commercial
Hasty generalization
There is not enough evidence to support a particular conclusion
Ex.
My father smoked four packs of cigarettes a day and lived to age 70. Therefore, smoking is not that bad for you.
False dilemma
Speaker presents two extreme options as the only possible choices
Either we agree to higher taxes, or our grandchildren will be mired in debt.
You are either with God, or against him.
I thought you were a good person, but you weren’t at church today.
Ad hominem
The diversionary tactic of switching the argument from the issue to the character of another speaker
Arguing/attacking against the person rather than the issue
Ex.
She suggests that lowering taxes will be a good idea– This is coming from someone who eats Ben and Jerry’s every night!
Circular Reasoning
Repeating the claim as a way to provide evidence, resulting in no evidence
Buy this shampoo because it’s the best!
You can’t give me a C because I’m an A student!
Red Herring
Occurs when a speaker skips to a new and irrelevant topic to avoid topic of discussion
Ex.
We can debate these regulations until the cows come home, but what the American people want to know is, when are we going to end this partisan bickering?
Straw Man
When a speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example to ridicule or refute an opponent’s viewpoint
Ex.
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 defenseless by cutting military spending.
Faulty analogy
Analogy where two things are not comparable
Analogies on irrelevant or inconsequential similarities between two things
Ex.
To say humans are immortal is like saying a car can run forever
People who have to have a cup of coffee every morning before they can function have no less a problem than alcoholics who have to have their alcohol each day to sustain them.
If Leonardo DiCaprio wears Rolex, then I should buy it.
