Logical Fallacies

Ad Hominem

“i was surprised you agreed with her. she’s kind of an extremist.”-

To attack a person’s character rather than the argument

Appeal to Pity

“i know i made a poor decision. but lets just look at how hard my job is”-

To persuade through pity

Appeal to Popular Passions

“i know you’ll all agree with this, ladies and gentlemen” -

To argue something is good or right because a group of people believe it is

Begging the Question

“i avoid those meetings; i don’t want to be brainwashed”-

Assuming the truth rather than supporting it; uses circular reasoning

False Dilemma

“either you agree with me or you hate me”-

Persuading people by convincing them that there are only two choices

Hasty Generalization

“the traditional family is not a safe and viable foundation for society…”-

Making an argument based on limited information

Non-sequitur

“i should not receive a C in this course; i never get Cs”-

When the argument has nothing to do with the premise; the reasoning or evidence is irrelevant

Red Herring

“you asked me why the unemployment rate has risen again, but i’ll tell you what’s affecting this country’s morale in even worse ways than that” -

Attempt to mislead or distract your audience from your argument by providing a scapegoat

Slippery Slope

“if i give you a raise, then i have to give everyone a raise, and then the company will go bankrupt”-

Argues that one action will lead to a series of catastrophic events

Strawman

“you say you want to reform the criminal justice system. what, do you want to free all the criminals?”-

When you simplify your opponent’s argument to make it easier to attack