Rhetorical Fallacies

Appealing to Pity

Making the audience feel bad or guilty in order to convince them to take your point of view

Ad populam

To avoid confusion, we are using this version of the fallacy. This is an update from Oct. 23rd. Playing on the prejudices of the audience in a way that says, "Most people think that..." or that implies that good or smart people, etc. believe a certain thing.

Appealing to Tradition

Doing the same thing every time can be great, especially if you like it. But don't use it as support for an argument. (In other words, don't say that you are right because it has always been this way in the past, so it must be the right way...)

Faulty or Weak Analogy

Assuming that because two things are alike in one or more respects, they are necessarily alike in some other respect.

Ad Hominem

Arguments that attack the person instead of his/her positions/views

False Causes (the most common type is the "Post Hoc" fallacy)

Assuming (or implying) that something that happened just before CAUSED what happened after

Equivocating

When a key term or phrase in an argument is used in an ambiguous way, with one meaning in one portion of the argument and then another meaning in another portion of the argument.

Ignoring the Question

Talking about something other than the actual issue; you might be on the topic, but you aren't discussing what was really being asked.

Guilt by Association

Implying an individual is bad or wrong because he/she has some connection to another person or group

Opposing a Straw Man

Pretending to respond to your opponent's argument, but not really representing your opponent's argument accurately. Addressing only the extreme views of your opponent's argument.

Presenting a False Dilemma/False Dichotomy

Pretending something is a choice between only two things, when there are other possible choices/alternatives

Slippery Slope

Implying or saying that one step leads unavoidably to another, and another, and eventually (unavoidably) to a bad outcome, when instead, the first step would not automatically lead to all of those things happening.

Whataboutism

-Rhetorical strategy, way to deflect examination.
-You avoid the conversation by bringing up something else, often something done by someone else.

suppressed evidence

A failure to mention or otherwise acknowledge important, relevant evidence.

red herring

Something irrelevant that draws attention away from (distracts from) the main issue