APLANGUAGE&COMPOSITIONLOGICALFALLACYIDENTIFICATIONKEY

Ad hominem

An attack on the person, or the character of the person, rather
than his or her arguments or opinions.

Ad hominem

Person A makes claim X
Person B makes an attack on Person A
Therefore, A’s claim is not true

Ad hominem

Michael Vick is not a good football player; he is a criminal who is
cruel to animals.

Ad populum

A fallacious argument that appeals to the popularity of the
claim as a reason to accept it.

Ad populum

Person A makes claim X
Person A is popular and widely liked
Therefore, A’s claim is true because of his/her popularity.

Ad populum

Most people think that Gatorade is better than Powerade, so
Gatorade is the superior sports beverage

Begging the Question

An argument that assumes that the premise of the claim is
true.

Begging the Question

Claim Z assumes that Z is true
Therefore, claim Z is true

Begging the Question

Useless and wasteful plastic grocery bags should be banned.

Circular Reasoning

A fallacious argument that restates the argument or claim
rather than proving it

Circular Reasoning

Claim A is true because of claim B
B is true because of A

Circular Reasoning

The president of the United States is a good leader because he is
the leader of the country.

False Analogy

This is an argument that is based on a misleading comparison.

False Analogy

Item A and item B are similar
Item A likes Z
Therefore, B should like Z also

False Analogy

Students should be able to use their notes and textbooks on
exams because surgeons get to use X-ray and MRI images during
surgery.

Hasty Generalizations

A conclusion, or a claim, that is based on insufficient evidence.
This happens when the arguer rushes to a conclusion before
having enough relevant facts.

Hasty Generalizations

Z is true for A
Z is true for B
Z is true for C
Z is true for D
Therefore, Z must be true for E, F, G.....Y, Z

Hasty Generalizations

Even though it is only the first day of school, I can already tell I’m
going to hate this year.

Non-Sequitur

This type of fallacy occurs when a conclusion does not follow
from its premises.

Non-Sequitur

Person A makes claim 1
Person A provides support for claim 1
Therefore, claim 2 must be true

Non-Sequitur

Students like to eat French fries. French fries are made from
potatoes. Therefore, it is healthy to eat French fries everyday.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

This logical fallacy occurs when it is assumed that one thing
caused another when the two events happen sequentially.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Event A happens
Then, event B happens
Therefore, event A must have caused event B

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

The stoplight always turns red right before I reach the
intersection. Therefore, my car must be the reason why the
stoplight always changes.

Red Herring

This is a logical fallacy that is a diversion tactic that leads
people away from the key or real issues.

Red Herring

Issue Y is being discussed
Issue Z is disguised to look relevant to Y
Issue Y is ignored/abandoned

Red Herring

Energy drinks can be potentially very dangerous. However, the
real danger society should be discussing is a generation of kids
failing school because they are too tired to study.

Slippery Slope

This fallacy occurs when a person argues that an event will
inevitably happen without providing any examples that this
may happen.

Slippery Slope

Event A happens (or may happen)
Therefore, event Z will inevitably happen

Slippery Slope

School districts have the ability to monitor student Internet use
at school, therefore the districts will eventually monitor all
student Internet activity.

Straw Man

This logical fallacy happens when someone oversimplifies or
misrepresents another person’s argument in order to make it
easier to attack.

Straw Man

Person 1 believes A
Person 2 says B (which is a misrepresented version of A)
Person 2 attacks B
Therefore, A is wrong

Straw Man

Person 1: I prefer rainy days to sunny days.
Person 2: Yes, but if it is never sunny out, people will suffer from
Vitamin D deficiency, all of our crops will die, and we will die of
starvation.