Logical Fallacies Example Practice

“We can’t legalize marijuana; if we do, then the next thing you know people will be strung out on heroin.“

Slippery Slope

“Luke didn’t want to eat his sheep’s brains with chopped liver and brussel sprouts, but his father told him to think about the poor, starving children in a third world country who weren’t fortunate enough to have any food at all.“

Appeal to Emotion

“The Giants lost today because I forgot to wear my cap.“

Post Hoc

“Justice League was a horrible movie because all DCEU movies are horrible. Of course DCEU movies are horrible, look at Justice League.“

Begging the Question/Circular Reasoning

“The majority of people in the US die in hospitals, so stay out of them.“

Sweeping Generalization

“Jason said that that was all cool and everything, but his grandfather smoked 30 cigarettes a day and lived until 97, so don’t believe everything you read about meta analyses of methodologically sound studies showing proven causal relationships.“

Anecdotal

“Angus declares that Scotsmen do not put sugar on their porridge, to which Lachlan points out that he is a Scotsman and puts sugar on his porridge. Furious, like a true Scot, Angus yells that no true Scotsman sugars his porridge.“

No True Scotsman

“People who have a cup of coffee every morning before they can function have no less a problem than alcoholics who have to have their alcohol each day to sustain them.“

Faulty Analogy

'“Since war is particularly unpleasant, military discourse is full of ____. America changed the name of the War Department to the Department of Defense. In the 1980s, the Reagan Administration renamed the MX Missile ‘The Peacekeeper.’ During wartime, civilian casualties are referred to as collateral damage.“

Euphemisms

“The makers of Sugarette Candy Drinks point to research showing that of the five countries where Sugarette drinks sell the most units, three of them are in the top 10 healthiest countries on Earth, therefore Sugarette drinks are healthy.“

The Texas Sharpshooter

“Recognizing that Amanda had committed a fallacy in arguing that we should eat healthy food because a nutritionist said it was popular, Alyse said we should therefore eat bacon double cheeseburgers everyday.“

The Fallacy Fallacy

“There was an increase of births during the full moon. Therefore, full moons cause birth rates to rise.“

Post Hoc

“Can you believe that so many people are concerned with global warming. The real threat to our country is terrorism.“

Red Herring/Smoke Screen

“This schizophrenic has paranoid delusions. It stands to reason that they all do.“

Hasty Generalization

“After Will said that we should put more money into health and education, Warren responded by saying that he was surprised that Will hates our country so much that he wants to leave it defenseless by cutting military spending.“

Straw Man

“Accused on the 6 o’clock news of corruption and taking bribes, the senator said that we should all be very wary of the things we hear in the media, because we all know how unreliable the media can be.“

Genetic

“After Sally presents an eloquent and compelling case for a more equitable taxation system, Sam asks the audience whether we should believe anything from a woman who isn’t married, was once arrested, and smells a bit weird.“

Ad Hominem

“Sally is in support of gun control. She seeks out news stories and opinion pieces that reaffirm the need for limitations on gun ownership. When she hears stories about shootings in the media, she interprets them in a way that supports her existing beliefs.“

Confirmation Bias

“A popular sports star may know a lot about football, but very little about shaving cream. His expertise on the playing field does not qualify him to intelligently discuss the benefits of aloe.“

False Authority

“Consider the word democracy. This is a good word; an important word. But what does it mean? When someone uses this word in conversation, we fall back on our personal understanding of the term, relying on ideas we learned from our parents, our teachers, our neighbors, and our friends. We assume that the other person interprets the term in the same way we do.“

Glittering Generalities

“Who would you vote for: someone raised in a working-class neighborhood who has the support of Joe the Plumber or some elitist whose daddy sent him to a fancy school.“

Plain Folk

“Wilma: You cheated on your income tax. Don’t you realize that’s wrong
Walter: Hey, wait a minute. You cheated on your income tax last year. Or have you forgotten about that?
Walter may be correct in his counter-accusation, but that does not show that Wilma’s accusation is false.“

Tu Quoque

“Seamus pointed a drunken finger at Sean and asked him to explain how so many people could believe in leprechauns if they’re only a silly superstition. Sean, however, had imbibed a few too many Guinness himself and fell off his chair.“

Bandwagon

“That politician always wraps himself in the flag.“

Appeal to the People

“If Congress limits the availability of automatic weapons, America will slide down a slippery slope which will ultimately result in the banning of all guns, the destruction of the Constitution, and a totalitarian police state.“

Slippery Slope

“A boy always serves as student-body president; a girl always serves as secretary. That’s the way it’s always been.“

Appeal to Tradition

“Pointing to a fancy chart, Roger shows how temperatures have been rising over the past few centuries, whilst at the same time the numbers of pirates have been decreasing; thus pirates cool the world and global warming is a hoax.“

Post Hoc

“This legislation is sinful because it is the wrong thing to do.“

Begging the Question/Circular Argument

“I fail to see why hunting should be considered cruel when it gives tremendous pleasure to many people and employment to even more.“

Red Herring/Smoke Screen

“I know a union representative and he’s a terrible person. I wouldn’t trust any of them.“

Hasty Generalization

“When the judge asked the defendant why he hadn’t paid his parking fines, he said that he shouldn’t have to pay them because the sign said ‘Fine for parking here‘ and so he naturally presumed it would be fine to park there.“

Ambiguity

“Grace and Helen were both romantically interested in Brad. One day, with Brad sitting within earshot, Grace asked in an inquisitive tone whether Helen was having any problems with a drug habit.“

Loaded Question

“Medical student: No one objects to a physician looking up a difficult case in medical books. Why, then, shouldn’t students taking a difficult examination be permitted to use their textbooks.“

Faulty Analogy

“We must choose between safety and freedom. And it is in the nature of good Americans to take the risk of freedom.“

False Dichotomy

“Henry, on the other hand, is adamantly opposed to gun control. He seeks out news sources that are aligned with his position. When he comes across news stories about shootings, he interprets them in a way that supports his current point of view.“

Confirmation Bias

“The prosecution is going to bring up a series of so-called experts who are getting a lot of money to testify here today.“

Poisoning the Well

“Not able to defend his position that evolution isn’t true, Bob says that he knows a scientist who also questions evolution, and presumably isn’t a primate.“

Appeal to Authority

“My opponent has donated millions to oil companies. He has supported drilling for oil in protected locations. Now, he is going to come and present his energy plan, but let me remind you, he comes as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.“

Poisoning the Well

“Men are statistically more aggressive than women. Therefore, I, a male, must be more aggressive than you, a female.“

Sweeping Generalization

“The natural world is characterized by competition; animals struggle against each other for ownership of limited natural resources. Capitalism, the competitive struggle for ownership of capital, is simply an inevitable part of human nature. It’s how the natural world works.“

Appeal to Nature

“Not standing up to speak out against an unpopular political idea with all detractors and thus being considered a part of that political group even though you aren’t really part of it.“

Guilt by Association

“My mother told me that I should quit smoking because it is bad for my health. My mother is a lifelong smoker. Therefore, my mother’s advice should be ignored, and her claim that smoking is bad for my health is false.“

Tu Quoque

“Holly said that vaccinations caused autism in children, but her scientifically well-read friend Caleb said that this claim had been debunked and proven false. Their friend Alice offered a compromise that vaccinations must cause some autism, just not all autism.“

Middle Ground

“Having a lot of friends who speak out in a prejudiced way and not distancing yourself from their statements so you are thought to be prejudiced as well.“

Guilt by Association

“A patient either gets better or they don’t.“

False Dichotomy

“Jim Bakker was an insincere Christian. Therefore all Christians are insincere.“

Hasty Generalization

“Come on now - is he or isn’t he bipolar?“

False Dichotomy

“Oh you are seeing Dr. Thomas? He really gives me the creeps, so just watch out.“

Poisoning the Well

“You wouldn’t want your kids to be left behind on the information superhighway, would you? What kind of parent are you anyway?“

Appeal to the People

“Windows Vista is much better than older versions of the Windows OS. How could it not be, coming after so many years of experience.“

Appeal to Novelty

“Your friend tells you that her brother wants to date you, but she says that he is a player and never keeps a girlfriend for very long. Now, when you meet him, your opinion will be tainted.“

Poisoning the Well

“Psychologists have always agreed that…“

Appeal to Tradition

“I did not murder my mother and father with an ax! Please don’t find me guilty. I’m suffering enough through being an orphan.“

Appeal to the People

“It’s the latest!“ / “The most recent studies show that…“

Appeal to Novelty

“He’s either guilty or not guilty.“

False Dichotomy