The Fallacy Detective

Question 1

avoiding the question

Answer 1

whenever something irrelevant is introduced into an argument

Question 2

red herring

Answer 2

the introduction of an irrelevant point into an argument

Question 3

ad hominem

Answer 3

attacking an opponent’s character, or his motives for believing something, instead of disproving his argument

Question 4

genetic fallacy

Answer 4

condemning an argument because of where it began, how it began, or who began it

Question 5

tu quoque

Answer 5

“you too” dismissing someone’s viewpoint on an issue because he himself is inconsistent in that very thing

Question 6

faulty appeal to authority

Answer 6

appeal to someone who has no special knowledge in the area being discussed

Question 7

appeal to the people

Answer 7

claim that a viewpoint is correct because many other people agree with it

Question 8

straw man

Answer 8

changing or exaggerating an opponent’s position or argument to make it easier to refute

Question 9

assumption

Answer 9

something taken for granted, or accepted as true without proof

Question 10

circular reasoning

Answer 10

P is true because Q is true, and Q is true because P is true

Question 11

equivocation

Answer 11

the meaning of a word is changed in the middle of an argument

Question 12

loaded question

Answer 12

when someone asks two questions, but one is hidden behind the other, that’s a loaded question

Question 13

part-to-whole

Answer 13

the claim that what is true of part of something must also be true of the whole thing together

Question 14

whole-to-part

Answer 14

the claim that what is true of something as a whole must also be true of each of its parts

Question 15

either-or

Answer 15

the assertion that there is a choice between two things, when in fact there are more than two alternatives

Question 16

slippery slope

Answer 16

assumes that if we take one step, nothing will stop us from taking a series of steps because each step is the same

Question 17

generalization

Answer 17

takes a sample from a class of things, then, using the characteristics from that sample, says something about everything in that class

Question 18

hasty generalization

Answer 18

generalizing about a class based upon a small or poor sample

Question 19

analogy

Answer 19

comparison of two or more items with each other, concluding that they will be the same in other ways also

Question 20

weak analogy

Answer 20

the claim that some items with only minor similarities are the same in almost everything else

Question 21

post hoc ergo propter hoc

Answer 21

since A happened before B, A must have caused B

Question 22

proof by lack of evidence

Answer 22

claiming something is true simply because nobody has yet given any evidence to the contrary

Question 23

propaganda

Answer 23

any strategy for spreading our beliefs or ideas

Question 24

manipulative propaganda

Answer 24

when someone plays with our emotions in a way designed to make us agree with them without thinking through the matter carefully

Question 25

appeal to fear

Answer 25

when someone makes you fear the consequences of not doing what he wants

Question 26

appeal to pity

Answer 26

when someone tries to make us do something only because we pity him or we pity something associated with him

Question 27

bandwagon

Answer 27

pressure to do something just because many other people like us are doing it

Question 28

exigency

Answer 28

when nothing more than a time limit is given as a reason for us to do what someone wants

Question 29

repetition

Answer 29

repeating a message loudly and very often in the hope that we will believe it

Question 30

transfer

Answer 30

getting us to transfer our good or bad feelings about one thing to another unrelated thing

Question 31

snob appeal

Answer 31

when someone tries to persuade us to think his product would make us better or make us stand out from everyone else

Question 32

appeal to tradition

Answer 32

when someone encourages us to buy some product or to take some action because it is associated with things of the past

Question 33

appeal to hi-tech

Answer 33

when someone encourages us to buy something because it is the “latest thing” - not necessarily because it is the best thing

Question 34

special pleading

Answer 34

when someone uses a double standard or argues for an unjustified exception