logical fallacy practice

Ad hominem

Definition: Attacking the person instead of their argument.
Example:
“You can’t trust John’s opinion on climate change because he’s not a scientist.”
(The argument is ignored, and the person is attacked.)

Appeal to authority

Definition: Saying something is true just because an expert or authority says so, without other evidence.
Example:
“This medicine must be safe because a famous doctor said so.”
(The doctor might be wrong or biased.)

Appeal to emotion

Definition: Using feelings instead of facts to persuade someone.
Example:
“Think of the poor puppies! You must buy this product to save them.”
(Emotion is used instead of logical reasons.)

Bandwagon appeal

Definition: Saying something is true or good because everyone else believes or does it.
Example:
“Everyone is buying this phone, so it must be the best.”
(Popularity doesn’t prove quality.)

Begging the question

Definition: Assuming the thing you are trying to prove is already true.
Example:
“I’m trustworthy because I always tell the truth.”
(This just repeats the claim without proving it.)

Cliche thinking

Definition: Using overused, unoriginal ideas as if they were always true.
Example:
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
(This ignores that people can learn at any age.)

False dilemma

Definition: Presenting only two choices when there are more options.
Example:
“You’re either with us or against us.”
(There can be other positions.)

Hasty generalization

Definition: Making a big conclusion about a whole group based on too few examples or not enough evidence.
Example:
“I met two people from that city who were rude, so everyone from that city must be rude.”
(This is judging everyone based on just a small, unrepresentative sample.)

Non Sequiter

Definition: A conclusion that doesn’t logically follow from the previous statement.
Example:
“She drives a nice car, so she must be rich.”
(Driving a nice car doesn’t always mean someone is rich.)

Red herring

Definition: Introducing an unrelated topic to distract from the real issue.
Example:
“Why worry about my grades when there are bigger problems in the world?”
(This avoids the question about grades.)

Slippery slope

Definition: Saying one small step will lead to a chain of negative events without proof.
Example:
“If we allow kids to skip homework once, soon they’ll stop coming to school altogether.”
(No evidence that skipping homework leads to dropping out.)

Straw man

Definition: Misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.
Example:
“You want to eat less meat? So you want to starve everyone!”
(This twists the original point.)

post hoc

Definition: Assuming that because one thing happened after another, the first caused the second.
Example:
“I prayed for rain, and then it rained. My prayer caused the rain.”
(This might just be a coincidence.)