AP Lang Literary Terms: Logical Fallacies in Argumentation

ad hominem

“against the man;” attacking the arguer rather than the argument or issue

ad populum

“to the crowd;” the misconception that because a great number of people do something, it is therefore correct

appeal to authority

person A is (or claims to be) an authority on subject S.. Person A makes claim C about subject S, therefore claim C is true

appeal to belief

most people believe that X is true, therefore X is true

appeal to emotion

when arguer manipulates emotions in order to get people to accept a claim as being true

bandwagon

threat of rejection from one’s peers replaces evidence in an argument

begging the question

taking for granted something that needs proving

biased sample

drawing a conclusion about a population based on a sample that is biased or prejudiced

circular reasoning

trying to prove one idea with another idea that is too similar to the first

confusing cause & effect

A and B regularly occur together, therefore A is the cause of B

hasty generalization

drawing a general and premature conclusion on the basis of only one or two cases

middle ground

Position A and B are too extreme. C rests in between A and B, therefore C is the correct one

motivational appeal

an attempt to reach an audience by recognizing their needs and values and how these contribute to their decision making

non sequitur

“it does not follow;” an inference or conclusion that does not follow established evidence or premises

poisoning the well

unfavorable information about person A is presented (true or false), therefore any claims made by person A will be false

post hoc

“after this, therefore because of this;” assuming that an incident that recedes another is the cause of the second

propaganda

writing or images that seek to persuade through emotional appeal rather than through logical proof

red herring (wild goose chase)

diverting attention from the issue by introducing a new point

reductio ad absurdum

"to reduce to the absurd;” it reduces an argument to an either/or choice

slippery slope

predicting without justification that one step in a process will lead unavoidable to a second, generally undesirable step

straw man

disputing a view similar to, but not the same as, that of the arguer’s opponent

two wrongs make a right

Bill has borrowed Jane’s pen, but realizes he did not return it. He tells himself that it is okay to keep it, since she would have done the same.