Logical Fallacies

Slippery Slope

If A, then B, then C, ... then ultimately Z!

Hasty Generalization

a fallacy in which a speaker jumps to a general conclusion on the basis of insufficient evidence

post hoc ergo propter hoc

Latin for "after which therefore because of which," meaning that it is incorrect to always claim that something is a cause just because it happened earlier. (correlation does not imply causation):

A happened, then B happened.
A must have caused B.

Genetic Fallacy

Condemning an argument because of where it began, how it began, or who began it.

Circular Argument

This restates the argument rather than actually proving it:

X is true because of Y.
Y is true because of X.

false dichotomy (either/or)

This is a conclusion that oversimplifies the argument by reducing it to only two sides or choices:

Either X or Y is true.
Either X, Y, or Z is true.

ad hominem

a fallacy that attacks the person rather than dealing with the real issue in dispute

ad populum

bandwagon appeal; this fallacy occurs when evidence boils down to "everybody's doing it, so it must be a good thing to do."

A lot of people believe X.
Therefore, X must be true.

Red Herring

A fallacy that introduces an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion

Strawman

Misrepresenting someone's argument to make it easier to attack

false equivalence

a logical fallacy in which two opposing arguments appear to be logically equivalent when in fact they are not:

Thing 1 and thing 2 both share characteristic A.
Therefore, things 1 and 2 are equal.

non sequitur

something that does not logically follow:

Claim A is made.
Evidence is presented for claim A.
Therefore, claim C is true.

Tu Quoque

Dismissing someone's viewpoint on an issue because he himself is inconsistent in that very thing.