Logical fallacies

AP Lang Vocab #3

Scare tactics

Used to frighten readers or listeners into agreeing with the speaker; often, the speaker has no logical argument on which to fall back

Equivocation

Telling part of the truth, while deliberately hiding the entire truth

Red herring

Shifting attention away from an important issue by introducing an issue that has no logical connection to the discussion at hand

Faulty causality 

Setting up a cause and effect relationship when none exists. Because A came before B, A caused B

Straw man

Oversimplification of an opponent’s argument to make it easier

Slippery slope

Dire consequences will result from relatively minor causes. A will cause B, which will eventually cause Z

Sentimental appeals

Appeals to the hearts of the readers so that they forget to use their minds. Pathos without Logos

Faulty analogy

An illogical, misleading comparison between two things

False authority

Agree with the writer’s assumptions based on the authority of a famous person or entity. Although that person may be well known, he or she is not an authority on the subject 

Hasty generalization 

Drawing a conclusion with insufficient, sometimes selective evidence

Non sequitur

A statement that does not logically relate to what comes before it. Latin for “does not follow”

Dogmatism

Does not allow for discussion because the speaker presumes that his or her beliefs are beyond question; essentially, the logic is “ I’m correct because I’m correct

Poisoning the well

Irrelevant adverse information about a target is preemptively presented to an audience, with the intention of discrediting or ridiculing everything that the target person is about to say 

Ad Hominem/ Character attack

Criticizes an idea by pointing something out about he person who holds the idea rather than directly addressing the merit of the actual idea 

Begging the question

Assuming that parts or all of the what the person claims are proven facts or proving by repeating: “the death penalty is wrong because killing people is immoral”

Appeal to ignorance

This fallacy occurs when you argue that your conclusion must be true, because there is no evidence against it. Thus fallacy wrongly shifts the burden of proof away from the one making the claim

Bandwagon

An argument that you should do something because others are doing it

Card-Stacking

Ignoring counterarguments or other perspectives