logical fallacies

Ad hominem attack

An argument directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining

ex) I believe we need to raise the minimum wage to help low income families; you’re just an idiot who doesn’t know what they’re talking about

Red herring

Something is introduced that is completely off-topic to distract from the main issue or argument

Ex) we need to fix the school’s lunch program because the food is terrible; but the school has a great football team

Straw man

when someone misinterprets or twists another person’s argument to make it easier to attack them or argue against them

Ex) we should eat more vegetables; you want us to never eat meat again?

Slippery slope

If one small thing happens, then a bunch of bad things will follow after even if there’s no good reason to think so

Ex) if we let students use calculators soon, they won’t learn math at all. They’ll fail school and never get jobs.

Either or arguments

Presents only two options when they’re clearly other options that exist you must choose between the two even though there are other options

Ex) either you go to college degree or you end up poor

Hasty generalization

Conclusion is drawn about an entire population based on small or unrepresentative sample

Ex) assuming all wait staff are rude after one bad experience with a waiter

Bandwagon

An argument claim something is true or good simply because it is popular or the majority of people believe it or do it rather than lying on research and evidence

Ex) millions of people are switching to Brand X toothpaste shouldn’t you?

Begging the question

where an argument's premise already assumes the truth of the conclusion it's trying to prove, offering no real evidence (goes in a circle)

Ex) snakes make great pets that’s why we should get a snake

False authority

When someone acts like an expert on a topic when they aren’t

Ex) a famous actor, gives medical advice, even though they’re not a doctor

False cause

Thinking that because one thing happened right before another thing, the first thing must’ve caused it

Ex) I wore my lucky socks and then aced my exam so my socks must’ve caused me to do well

Appeal to authority

Occurs when an argument relies on a person status to be convincing rather than using evidence or logical reasoning, making it a fraud line of reason

Ex) a famous actor, promotes a diet plan implying it’s the best just because of their celebrity status

Appeal to nature

Having a certain feeling toward something based on whether it is natural (good) or unnatural (bad)

Ex) medicine from herbal plants must be more beneficial than pharmaceutical medicines because herbal medicine is natural

anecdotal

Person uses an individual event or personal story to prove or disprove facts

Ex) my grandpa smoked for 65 years. It cannot be that bad.

tu Quoque

When someone attempts to describe an opponents argument by accusing them of hypocrisy rather than addressing the argument itself

Ex) you need to study more instead of playing video games all day; but you watch TV all the time when you were my age

Personal incredulity

When someone concludes a preposition is false, because I personally cannot believe or understand it

Ex)

Dismissing the theory of evolution because they cannot see how complex life could evolve from simple organisms

Genetic

A logical error where an idea, argument, or person is judged solely on its origin or source instead of its actual content or evidence

Ex) the Volkswagen beetle is a bad car because Hitler’s army designed it