Fallacy

Ad Hominem

• Definition: Attacking the person instead of their argument.

• Example: “Don’t listen to Jane’s opinion on climate change—she’s not even married.”

Appeal to Authority

• Definition: Saying something is true just because an authority figure believes it.

• Example: “This shampoo must be the best—my favorite actor says so.”

Appeal to Emotion

• Definition: Trying to win an argument by stirring up feelings instead of using logic.

• Example: “If you don’t donate to this cause, think of all the poor puppies that will suffer!”

Bad Analogy

• Definition: Comparing two things that aren’t actually alike.

• Example: “Employees are like nails. Just hit them on the head to get them to work.”

Bandwagon Appeal

• Definition: Saying something is right because everyone else does it.

• Example: “Everyone has the newest iPhone, so you need one too!”

Begging the Question

• Definition: Assuming what you’re trying to prove; circular reasoning.

• Example: “This new diet works because it makes people lose weight.”

Cliché Thinking

• Definition: Using an overused saying as proof.

• Example: “We shouldn’t change the rules—if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Either/Or Fallacy (False Dilemma)

• Definition: Pretending there are only two choices when there are more.

• Example: “You’re either with us or against us.”

False Analogy

• Definition: Assuming because two things are alike in one way, they’re alike in another.

• Example: “Employees are like children, so we should treat them like kids.”

False Cause (Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc)

• Definition: Assuming one thing caused another just because it happened first.

• Example: “I wore my lucky socks and then my team won—my socks made us win.”

Hasty Generalization

• Definition: Making a broad conclusion based on too little evidence.

• Example: “I met two rude people from New York, so all New Yorkers are rude.”

Non Sequitur

• Definition: A conclusion that doesn’t logically follow from the previous statement.

• Example: “She drives a nice car, so she must be rich and happy.”

Red Herring

• Definition: Distracting from the real issue with something irrelevant.

• Example: “Why worry about the environment when there are people unemployed?”

Slippery Slope

• Definition: Claiming one small step will lead to a chain of bad events.

• Example: “If we let students redo one test, soon they’ll want to redo every assignment.”

Strawman

• Definition: Misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.

• Example: “You say we should have stricter gun laws. So basically, you want to take away everyone’s guns.”