Fallacies and Barriers to Critical Thinking

Vocabulary flashcards covering the four barriers to critical thinking and their associated fallacies.

Red Herring

Diverting the topic and perception away from the main subject-matter.

Straw Man

Distorting an opponent's position to make it easy to refute.

Appeal to Ignorance

Maintaining that a lack of evidence for something proves the opposite.

Appeal to Emotion

Manipulating or using emotions to persuade someone in an argument.

Ad Hominem

Attacking a characteristic of a person rather than addressing their views.

Appeal to Authority

Maintaining that an individual's status or authority determines the truth.

Equivocation

Using words ambiguously within an argument.

Composition

Ambiguously transferring the properties of an individual part to a whole group.

Division

Ambiguously transferring the properties of a group to an individual part.

Appeal to Popularity

Believing something is true simply because many people believe it to be so.

Appeal to Tradition

Believing something is true simply because people have believed it for a long time.

Genetic Fallacy

Attacking or praising a view solely based on its origin.