logical fallacies

Bandwagon approach

(Appeal to popularity) it must be cool because everyone is doing it

Slippery slope

A fallacious argument build on the supposition that a small step will lead to a larger chain of events (if you take too much drugs, you will become an addict)

Appeals to authority

Using a celebrity or authority figure’s name to support an issue which if not really his/her expertise

Card stacking

Material is simply left out or taken out of context, ignoring evidence that doesn’t support your opinion

Hasty generalizations

A type of inductive reasoning where conclusions are made through insufficient evidence (2 murderers in Michigan means Michigan is dangerous)

Begging the question

A is true because a is true (chocolate is healthy because it is good for you)

Straw man

A fallacy of distraction, an irrelevant conclusion (how can he evade taxes? He’s a great father)

Appeals to pity

Appealing to someone’s emotions in order to distract them from the truth

Ad hominem

Latin for “to the man”, where it points out a negative characteristic to support one’s argument

Non sequitur

Conclusion doesn’t logically follow the premise (men are human, Mary is human, therefore Mary is a man)

Guilt by association

A false correlation between two events (9/11 caused the sandy hook shooting)

Faulty cause/effect

“We’ve been in business for 50 years, that makes us the best!”

False needs

“If parents want intelligent children, they must buy baby Mozart!”

Either/or fallacy

False dilemma (you’re either part of the solution or part of the problem)

Post hoc

The argued infers that because one event follows another, the first event must be the cause of the second event (causation without correlation)