Apologetics: Logical Fallacies

Material fallacies

Mistakes made in the first act of the mind.

Argumentum ad hominem

Fallacy of a personal attack directed against the character or motives of a person rather than the proposition itself.

Argumentum ad ignorantiam

Fallacy of assuming something is true simply because it hasn’t been proven false.

Argumentum ad misericordiam

Emotional manipulation, or appeal to pity, often used to distract from rational argument.

Argumentum ad nauseam

Fallacy of proving something by repeating it over and over again.

Argumentum ad numeram

Fallacy of trying to prove something by showing how many people think it’s true.

Argumentum ad populum

Fallacy of trying to prove something by showing that the public agrees with you.

Argumentum ad verecundiam

Appeal to false authority; citing someone who has no expertise to support a claim.

Circulus in demonstrando

Circular argument; using what is being proved as part of the proof.

Cum hoc ergo propter hoc

Fallacy of assuming that because two things occur simultaneously, one must be a cause of the other.

Dicto simpliciter

Fallacy of making a sweeping statement, expecting it to be true for every specific case aka stereotyping

Bifurcation

Fallacy of assuming two categories are mutually exclusive, forcing a choice between them.

Fallacy of composition

Taking what is particular and projecting it onto the whole.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Assuming a causal relationship simply because one event follows another.

Red herring

Introducing irrelevant facts to distract from the main argument.

Straw man

Refuting an exaggerated or distorted version of someone’s argument instead of the actual argument.

Tu quoque

Fallacy of defending an error by pointing out that one’s opponent has made the same error.

Plurium interrogationum

Complex or loaded question that implies an assumption to be true.

Inductive reasoning

Reasoning from specific observations to general conclusions.

Deductive reasoning

Reasoning from general principles to specific conclusions.

“You can’t trust her opinion on climate change—she failed math in high school.”

Ad Hominem

“She wants to regulate pollution—so basically she wants to shut down all factories.”

Straw Man

“It must be healthy—my favorite actor drinks it every day.”

Argumentum ad Verecundiam

“Think of all the poor Ethiopian children! How could we be so cruel as not to help them?”

Argumentum ad misericordiam

“It must be true because many people believe it.”

Ad numeral

“It must be true because the public agrees with it.”

Ad Populum

“The Bible is true because it says it’s the word of God, and it’s the word of God because the Bible says so.”

Circulus in demonstrando (Circular reasoning)

“The economy did well under Clinton, so his policies must have caused it.”

Cum hoc ergo propter hoc

“You must have voted for Harris — you’re a woman, and all women are Democrats.”

Dicto simpliciter

“You are either a person of reason or a person of faith — you can’t be both.”

Bifurcation

“All the actors in that movie are great, so the movie will be great.”

Fallacy of composition

“After my opponent took office, the economy plummeted. A vote for me will restore prosperity.”

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

“How could my client have ordered the murder? He wasn’t even in the country at the time.”

Red Herring

Father: “Don’t smoke, it will harm you.” Son: “But you smoke, so I can too.”

Tu quoque

“Do you still beat your wife?”

Plurium interrogationum