Logical Fallacies

Ad Hominem

Instead of refuting an argument, a person would attack the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument.

Red Herring

A topic is introduced to an argument that doesn’t directly relate to the issue being addressed.

Straw Man

When someone changes what another person said to make it sound worse, and then argues against that instead of the real point

Slippery Slopes

A fallacy that suggests that a relatively small first step will lead to a chain of related events culminating in some significant impact, often negative.

Either-Or arguments

A fallacy that presents two options as the only possibilities, disregarding other viable alternatives.

Hasty Generalization

A logical fallacy where a conclusion is drawn about an entire population based on a small or unrepresentative sample.

Bandwagon (ad populum)

A logical fallacy where an argument claims something is true or good simply because it is popular or the majority of people believe it/do it, rather than relying on research and evidence.

Begging the question (or circular logic)

The argument assumes the truth of the very thing it’s trying to prove, going in a circle with logical reasoning instead of actually supporting it. “dogs are great and that’s why we should get a dog.”

False Authority

When someone acts like an expert on a topic when they aren’t.

False Cause

Thinking that because one thing happened right before another thing, the first thing must have caused it.

Appeal to authority

When a person relies on the person's status to be convincing, rather than using evidence or logical reasoning, making it a flawed line of reasoning.

Appeal to nature

Having a certain feeling towards something based on whether it is natural (good) or unnatural (bad). (herbal medicine > pharmaceutical)

Anecdotal

When a person uses an individual event or personal story to prove or disprove facts.

Tu quoque

When someone attempts to discredit an opponent's argument by accusing them of hypocrisy rather than addressing the argument itself.

Personal incredulity

Where someone concludes a proposition is false because they personally cannot believe or understand it.

Genetic

The genetic fallacy is a logical error where a claim is accepted or rejected based solely on its origin (genesis), rather than on its actual merit or truth.