Propaganda and Fallacies

Fallacy Fallacy

Just because a fallacy was used does not make it completely invalid.

False Analogy

X has property Y. Z is like X. So Z has property Y.

Ex: People are like dogs. They respond best to clear discipline.

False Cause

A causes B (but no proof).

False Compromise

Extreme views are wrong. The middle way is right.

False Effect

A is assumed to cause B. B is proven wrong, so A is wrong.

False Dilemma

Choice is A or B. Rejecting A is selecting B.

Four Terms

All A is B. All C is D. So all A is D.

Gambler's Fallacy

Chance can be predicted.

Ex: I've lost three nights in a row. I will win big tonight. I'm wearing my lucky watch, just to make sure.

Hasty Generalization

Generalizing from too-small a sample.

Illicit Major

All X is Y. No P (which is a subset of Y) is X. Therefore no P is Y.
Ex: All Londoners are European. No Parisiens are Londoners. Therefore no Parisiens are European.

Illicit Minor

All X are Y. All X are P. Therefore all P are Y.

Ex: All New Yorkers are beautiful. All New Yorkers are intelligent. Therefore all intelligent people are beautiful.

In a Certain Respect and Simply

Extending assumed boundaries too far.
Ex: A dog has white teeth, so the dog is white.

Insignificance

Making a minor cause seem major.

Many Questions

Overloading them with lots of questions.

Missing the Point

Drawing the wrong conclusion.

Personal Incredulity

That is so complicated, it can’t be true.

Poisoning the Well

Discrediting the person before they speak.

Post Hoc

X follows Y. Therefore X is caused by Y.

Ex: The man pulled out a gun. A shot was fired. Therefore the man fired the shot.

Red Herring

Distracting with an irrelevancy.

Reification

Treating a concept as concrete reality.

Repetition

Repeating something makes it more true.

Slippery Slope

Loosely connected statements with a ridiculous conclusion.

Social Conformance

Agree with me or be socially isolated.

Straw Figure

Attack a weak argument used by the other person.

Style over Substance

An attractive presentation makes it more right.

Undistributed Middle

All A is B. All C is B. Therefore all C is A.

Unrepresentative Sample

What is true about any sample is also true about the population.

Wishful Thinking

A is true because I want it to be true.