Logical Fallacies - AP Language

Ad Hominem

An attack of a person’s character, rather than the facts

Ad Baculum

Appeal to force or threat

Bandwagon

The appeal to the popularity of a claim as a reason to accept it

Appeal to Pity

Pathos-based argument to illicit feelings of sorrow or encourage rooting for the “underdog”

Appeal to Tradition

Suggesting that doing something the way it has been done in the past is always best

Appeal to Authority

The argument that because someone in a position of authority thinks something, it must be true

Genetic Fallacy

making a judgement based on where, or from whom, something came

Begging the Question

restating an argument rather than proving it, saying the same thing in different words

False Dilemma

oversimplification of an argument to only two possible answers

Cherry Picking

Omitting key info of making false comparison to make ones argument look stronger

The Fallacy Fallacy

Arguing that since an argument is fallacious, that person’s position must be wrong

False Analogy

The presumption that because toe things are alike in some ways, they are alike in others aswell

Hasty Generalization

Jumping to a conclusion attributing a quality of a small example to all similar examples

Mind Projection Fallacy

Believing that the way one sees the world reflects how it actually is

Post Hoc

Arguing that because things are connected, they must have caused each other

Questionable Authority

using the claim of a non expert to validate an argument

Slippery Slope

an argument that one thing leads to a series of worse things

Red Herring

A diversionary tactic, to avoid the opposing argument by changing the subject

Straw Man

Misrepresenting an oppenent’s claim to make it easier to refute