Vocab Unit Five Flashcards
Informal Fallacies
A popular but invalid (or unhelpful) form of argument.
Fallacies of Distraction
An argument that confuses the issue by pointing to information that is actually irrelevant to the conclusion.
Ipse Dixit
An illegitimate appeal to authority.
Ad Populum
An illegitimate appeal to a majority.
Ad baculum
An illegitimate appeal to force.
Ad hominem
A verbal attack on a person rather than his argument.
Bulverism
Attacking a position by pointing out how the arguer came to hold it.
Tu quoque
Points to an inconsistency between a person’s argument and behavior.
Ad ignorantiam
Ab argument from lack of evidence.
Chronological snobbery
An argument based merely on the passage of time.
Fallacies of Ambiguity
Are arguments that confuse the real issue with multiple, vague, or otherwise unclear meanings.
Equivocation
Changing the definition of a term in the middle of an argument.
Accent
Alters the meaning of a statement through changed emphasis.
Amphiboly
A vagueness of grammar that disguises or alters meaning.
Composition
The fallacy of transferring attributes from part to whole.
Division
The fallacy of transferring attributes from whole to part.
Fallacies of Form
Arguments that fail to establish their conclusions because of a weakness in logical structure.
Circular reasoning
Secretly assuming what you are trying to prove.
Post hoc ergo propter hoc
improperly assuming that a sequence in time implies a cause and effect. “P happened before Q, therefore P caused Q”
Either/or
Bifurcation
Making an arguement based on a false dilemma.
Complex Question
A question crafted to exclude any possible legitimate response. “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?”
Apriorism
A hasty generalization.
Induction
A legitimate generalization.
