Vocabulary 7- Logical Fallacies

Straw Man

Changing someone’s argument to make it easier to attack

Ad Hominem

Attacking the person instead of their argument

False Dilemma

Saying there are only two choices when there more

Slippery Slope 

Claiming one small step will leaf to something extreme. 

Circular Reasoning

The argument repeats itself instead of giving proof

Hasty Generalization

Making a big claim from too little evidence

Red Herring 

Bringing up something unrelated to distract from the topic. 

Post Hoc (False Cause)

Assuming one thing caused another just because it happened first.

Appeal to Authority

Saying something is true because an expert said so.

Appeal to Emotion 

Trying to win by making people feel emotions, not using facts. 

Bandwagon (Ad Populum)

Saying something is true because many people believe it.

Tu Quoque (You too)

Avoiding the argument by saying the other person does it too.

False Equivalence

Treating two different things as if they are the same. 

Appeal to Ignorance

Saying something is true because it hasn’t been proven false.

No true Scotsman 

Changing the definition to protect your claim from being proven wrong. 

Loaded Questions

A question that traps someone into looking guilty.

Middle Ground

Claiming the truth must be in the middle, even when it's not.

Texas Sharpshooter 

Picking only the data that support your argument

Cherry picking

Using only the evidence you like and ignoring the rest.

Appeal to Nature

Saying something is good because it’s natural or bad because its not natural.