The Fallacy Detective Flashcards
avoiding the question
whenever something irrelevant is introduced into an argument
red herring
the introduction of an irrelevant point into an argument
ad hominem
attacking an opponent’s character, or his motives for believing something, instead of disproving his argument
genetic fallacy
condemning an argument because of where it began, how it began, or who began it
tu quoque
“you too” dismissing someone’s viewpoint on an issue because he himself is inconsistent in that very thing
faulty appeal to authority
appeal to someone who has no special knowledge in the area being discussed
appeal to the people
claim that a viewpoint is correct because many other people agree with it
straw man
changing or exaggerating an opponent’s position or argument to make it easier to refute
assumption
something taken for granted, or accepted as true without proof
circular reasoning
P is true because Q is true, and Q is true because P is true
equivocation
the meaning of a word is changed in the middle of an argument
loaded question
when someone asks two questions, but one is hidden behind the other, that’s a loaded question
part-to-whole
the claim that what is true of part of something must also be true of the whole thing together
whole-to-part
the claim that what is true of something as a whole must also be true of each of its parts
either-or
the assertion that there is a choice between two things, when in fact there are more than two alternatives
slippery slope
assumes that if we take one step, nothing will stop us from taking a series of steps because each step is the same
generalization
takes a sample from a class of things, then, using the characteristics from that sample, says something about everything in that class
hasty generalization
generalizing about a class based upon a small or poor sample
analogy
comparison of two or more items with each other, concluding that they will be the same in other ways also
weak analogy
the claim that some items with only minor similarities are the same in almost everything else
post hoc ergo propter hoc
since A happened before B, A must have caused B
proof by lack of evidence
claiming something is true simply because nobody has yet given any evidence to the contrary
propaganda
any strategy for spreading our beliefs or ideas
manipulative propaganda
when someone plays with our emotions in a way designed to make us agree with them without thinking through the matter carefully
appeal to fear
when someone makes you fear the consequences of not doing what he wants
appeal to pity
when someone tries to make us do something only because we pity him or we pity something associated with him
bandwagon
pressure to do something just because many other people like us are doing it
exigency
when nothing more than a time limit is given as a reason for us to do what someone wants
repetition
repeating a message loudly and very often in the hope that we will believe it
transfer
getting us to transfer our good or bad feelings about one thing to another unrelated thing
snob appeal
when someone tries to persuade us to think his product would make us better or make us stand out from everyone else
appeal to tradition
when someone encourages us to buy some product or to take some action because it is associated with things of the past
appeal to hi-tech
when someone encourages us to buy something because it is the “latest thing” - not necessarily because it is the best thing
special pleading
when someone uses a double standard or argues for an unjustified exception
