logical fallacies

Ad Hominem

Attacking a person instead of his or her arguments.

Example of Ad Hominem

'You only believe that because you’re undereducated.'

Bandwagon

Accepting a position because most people agree with it.

Example of Bandwagon

'Most people don’t vote, so there’s no point to it.'

Circular Reasoning

Using an argument’s conclusion as an assumption.

Example of Circular Reasoning

'It’s alright to yell when you’re angry because angry people yell.'

False Dilemma

Presenting only two possible conclusions to a complex argument.

Example of False Dilemma

'If you love your country, you’ll vote against this amendment.'

False Analogy

Comparing two things that are not similar.

Example of False Analogy

'People who like free samples are just like thieves who like money.'

Hasty Generalization

Forming a general conclusion based on a few examples.

Example of Hasty Generalization

'I’ve been bitten by dogs, so I know that dogs usually bite people.'

Non Sequitur

A conclusion that does not follow from the evidence.

Example of Non Sequitur

'Cars should be illegal because moving too fast is bad for people.'

Post hoc

Assuming cause and effect simply because one thing followed another.

Example of Post hoc

'She ate a peanut butter sandwich yesterday, so that’s what made her sick.'

Red Herring

A conclusion that changes the subject.

Example of Red Herring

'I shouldn’t have to write this paper because other people have already explored this topic.'

Slippery Slope

Concluding that accepting something will lead to accepting something else.

Example of Slippery Slope

'Letting children eat candy bars will lead to widespread obesity among young people.'

Stereotyping

Arbitrary statements about groups of people or things.

Example of Stereotyping

'French people don’t like Americans very much.'

Straw Man

Misrepresenting an opponent’s position and then refuting that misrepresentation.

Example of Straw Man

'While my opponent says she wants to lower income taxes, I support public school teachers, who are paid by our property taxes.'