Logical Fallacies

Ad Hominem

A fallacy that attacks the person rather than dealing with the real issue in dispute

Hasty Generalization

A fallacy in which a faulty conclusion is reached because of inadequate evidence.

Red Herring

A fallacy that introduces an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion

Tu Quoque

Dismissing someone's viewpoint on an issue because he himself is inconsistent in that very thing.

Slippery Slope Fallacy

A fallacy that assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented

Special Pleading

Using double standards to excuse an individual or group

Loaded Question

Asking a question that has an assumption built into it so that it can't be answered without appearing guilty

False Dilemma

A fallacy of oversimplification that offers a limited number of options (usually two) when in fact more options are available.

Strawman Fallacy

Misrepresenting someone's argument to make it easier to attack

Circular Reasoning

A fallacy in which the writer repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence

Appeal to Authority

A fallacy in which a speaker or writer seeks to persuade not by giving evidence but by appealing to the respect people have for a famous person or institution.

Appeal to Nature

Making the argument that because something is 'natural' it is therefore valid, justified, inevitable, good, or ideal.

Composition Fallacy

A fallacy that occurs when we assume that traits inherent in the parts are also present when the parts are combined into a whole.

Division Fallacy

Argument in which a speaker assumes that what is true of the whole is also true of the parts that make up the whole

Affirming the Consequent

If it's a fish, then it lives under water.

If it lives under water, then it must be a fish.

Anecdotal Fallacy

Using a personal experience or an isolated example instead of sound reasoning or compelling evidence

Appeal to Emotion

You attempted to manipulate an emotional response in place of a valid or compelling argument.

Burden of Proof Fallacy

Saying that the burden of proof lies not with the person making the claim, but with someone else to disprove.

No True Scotsman Fallacy

Making what could be called an appeal to purity as a way to dismiss relevant criticisms or flaws of an argument.

Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy

Cherry-picking data clusters to suit an argument, or finding a pattern to fit a presumption.

Suppressed Correlative

Where a correlative is redefined so that one alternative is made impossible

Personal Incredulity Fallacy

Because you found something difficult to understand, or are unaware of how it works, you made out like it's probably not true.

Ambiguity Fallacy

You used a double meaning or ambiguity of language to mislead or misrepresent the truth.

Genetic Fallacy

Condemning an argument because of where it began, how it began, or who began it.

Middle-Ground Fallacy

Assuming that the middle position between two others is always the right one.

Affirming a Disjunct

Concluding that one disjunct of a logical disjunction must be false because the other disjunct is true

Appeal to Tradition

A fallacy which assumes that something old is automatically better than something new

Sunk Cost Fallacy

A framing effect in which people make decisions about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation

Appeal to Ignorance

A fallacy that uses an opponent's inability to disprove a conclusion as proof of the conclusion's correctness.

Continuum Fallacy

A false assumption that qualitative changes along a line of progression do not occur without agreement about exactly where such changes occur

Equivocation Fallacy

When the meaning of a key term changes at some point in an argument

Faulty Analogy

A fallacy that occurs when an analogy compares two things that are not comparable

Denying the Antecedent

If it's a fish, then it lives under water.

If it's not a fish, then it doesn't live under water.

False Cause Fallacy

Argument that mistakes a chronological relationship for a causal relationship

Definist Fallacy

Defining a term in such a way that makes one's position much easier to defend.

Ecological Fallacy

Assumes that a generalized cultural value applies equally well to all members of the culture

Etymological Fallacy

A type of Genetic Fallacy, where the origin of a word is employed, despite it being irrelevant to its meaning today

Quoting Out of Context

Quoting a statement in such a way as to distort its meaning by removing the statement from the words and phrases surrounding it

False Equivalence Fallacy

Drawing disproportionate comparisons to enhance emotional power of the argument

Historian's Fallacy

Occurs when one assumes that decision-makers of the past viewed events from the same perspective and had the same information as those subsequently analyzing the decision

Inflation of Conflict

The experts of a field of knowledge disagree on a certain point, so the scholars must know nothing, and therefore the legitimacy of their entire field is put to question.

Incomplete Comparison

A type of grammatical fallacy in which the point of comparison is missing or not clearly identified

Ludic Fallacy

Thinking the real world is comparable to the models used in experiments and math

Moralistic Fallacy

The argument that because something would be terrible if it were true then it must not be true

Nirvana Fallacy

When solutions to problems are rejected because they are not perfect

Proof by Assertion

Attempting to argue for a claim by restating it, often emphatically, rather than by defending it logically

Cherry Picking

Selectively present statistics supporting a point of view while ignoring competing data.

Psychologist's Fallacy

An observer presupposes the objectivity of his own perspective when analyzing a behavioral event.

Reification Fallacy

When people treat an abstract belief or hypothetical concept as if it represented a concrete event or physical entity

Retrospective Determinism

The argument that because some event has occurred, its occurrence must have been inevitable beforehand.

Thought-Terminating Cliché

Use of a truism to stifle dissent or validate faulty logic

Fallacy of the Single Cause

It is assumed that there is one, simple cause of an outcome when in reality it may have been caused by a number of only jointly sufficient causes.

Appeal to the Stone

Dismissing a claim as absurd without demonstrating proof for its absurdity

Ignoratio Elenchi

The fallacy of proving the wrong conclusion.

Circumstantial Ad Hominem

Involves an attempt to discredit an argument or view by calling attention to the circumstances or situation of those who advance it

Tone Policing Fallacy

Discrediting an argument based on the emotion behind it rather than the argument itself

Association Fallacy

Attributing the properties of one group to another due to both being part of a larger group

Appeal To Accomplishment

Where an assertion is deemed true or false based on the accomplishments of the proposer.

Courtier's Reply

A criticism is dismissed by claiming that the critic lacks sufficient knowledge, credentials, or training to credibly comment on the subject matter.

Appeal to Consequences

Attempt to motivate belief with either the good consequences of believing or the bad consequences of disbelieving

Appeal to Novelty

A fallacy which assumes that something new is automatically better than something old

Bulverism

Attacking a position by pointing out how the arguer came to hold it

Chronological Snobbery

Modern ideas are superior to older ideas simply because they are modern

I'm Entitled to my Opinion

A person discredits any opposition by claiming that they are entitled to their opinion.

Two Wrongs Make a Right

Arguing that your doing something morally wrong is justified because someone else has done the same thing.

Vacuous Truth

A claim that is technically true but meaningless

Fallacy Fallacy

Presuming a claim to be necessarily wrong because a fallacy has been committed.