Logical Fallacies

Question 1

Argumentum ad Hominem

Answer 1

Argument against the person: arguments attack a person’s character rather than reasoning the issues

Question 2

Red Herring

Answer 2

attempts to distract by shifting attention away from important issues

Question 3

Ad Populum (Bandwagon)

Answer 3

an argument that appeals to the emotions of a certain group, despite being logically unsound

Question 4

Ad Misericordiam

Answer 4

an argument that appeals pitty

Question 5

Non-Sequitur

Answer 5

This fallacy draws conclusions from premises that do not directly apply

Question 6

False Dichotomy

Answer 6

The either/ or fallacy that makes the assumption that there are only two alternatives

Question 7

Straw Person

Answer 7

arguments excessively simplified an opponent’s viewpoint to argue against it more easily

Question 8

Begging the Question (Circular Reasoning)

Answer 8

occurs when a writer assumes that an argument is in fact true; such an argument circular

Question 9

Sentimental Appeals

Answer 9

tug at an audience’s heart strings to the point of ignoring the facts perhaps to keep the audience from disagreeing with the writer

Question 10

Equivocation (splitting hairs)

Answer 10

a statement that is partially correct but that purposely obscurs the entire truth

Question 11

Faulty Analogy

Answer 11

inaccurate, inappropriate, or misleading comparison between two things

Question 12

Hasty Generalization

Answer 12

draws conclusions from scanty evidence

Question 13

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

Answer 13

After this, therefore because of this: an argument assumes causation based on the passing of time

Question 14

Ad Ignorantiam

Answer 14

An appeal to ignorance: an argument that claims something is true or false because there is evidence to prove otherwise

Question 15

Reductio Ad Absurdum

Answer 15

Reduction to the absurd: a disproof by showing that the consequences of the proposition are absurd; or proof of a proposition by showing that its negation leads to a contradiction

Question 16

Slippery Slope

Answer 16

when someone makes a claim about a series of events that would lead to one major event, usually a bad event

Question 17

Appeal to Emotion

Answer 17

(argumentum ad passiones) a logical fallacy characterized by the manipulation of the recipient’s emotions in order to win an argument, especially in the absence of factual evidence

Question 18

Guilt by Association

Answer 18

occurs when someone connects an opponent to a demonized group of people or to a bad person in order to discredit his or her argument

Question 19

Appeal to Nature

Answer 19

because something is ‘natural’ it is therefore valid, justified, inevitable, good or ideal

Question 20

False Causation

Answer 20

occurs when the link between premises and conclusion depends on some imagined causal connection that probably does not exist

Question 21

Appeal to Authority

Answer 21

(argumentum ad verecundiam) Insisting that a claim is true simply because a valid authority or expert on the issue said it was true, without any other supporting evidence offered