Logical Fallacies and Source Credibility

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering the 26 logical fallacies, source credibility criteria, and confirmation bias from the lecture notes.

Scare Tactics

A logical fallacy that uses fear, panic, or intimidation instead of reason or valid evidence to manipulate an audience into agreeing with a claim.

Either or Fallacy

A logical fallacy that portrays a complex situation as having only two alternative options, ignoring other valid possibilities.

Slipery Slope

A logical fallacy suggesting that taking a relatively small initial step will inevitably lead to a chain of catastrophic or negative events.

Over Sentimental Appeals

A logical fallacy that relies excessively on heart-tugging, emotional appeals to distract an audience from factual evidence and logic.

Bandwagon

A logical fallacy asserting that an idea, product, or belief must be valid or desirable simply because it is popular or widely adopted.

Appeal to False Authority

A logical fallacy that cites an unqualified or non-expert person as an authoritative source to validate a claim.

Ad Hominem

A logical fallacy that attacks the character, motive, or personal traits of the opponent rather than engaging with the actual argument.

Stacking the Deck

A logical fallacy in which the speaker presents only evidence favorable to their position while deliberately ignoring or omitting contrary evidence.

Hasty Generalization

A logical fallacy that draws a broad or definitive conclusion from an unrepresentative or insufficient sample of evidence.

Faulty Caulsality

A logical fallacy assuming that because one event happened after another, the initial event caused the subsequent one.

Begging the Question

A logical fallacy in which the premise of an argument assumes the truth of the conclusion without providing independent proof.

Equivocation

A logical fallacy that uses ambiguous language or shifts between multiple meanings of a single word to mislead in an argument.

Non Sequitur

A logical fallacy where a stated conclusion does not logically follow from the given premises or evidence.

Straw Man

A logical fallacy that misrepresents, oversimplifies, or exaggerates an opponent's position to make it easier to attack or disprove.

Red Herring

A logical fallacy that introduces an irrelevant or misleading topic to distract attention from the core issue being argued.

Faulty Analogy

A logical fallacy that assumes that because two items or situations are similar in some ways, they must be similar in other ways where the comparison fails.

Paralipsis

A rhetorical device of drawing attention to a subject while pretending to pass over, skip, or ignore it.

Gambler's Fallacy

The erroneous belief that the outcome of a past series of independent random events influences the probability of a future random event.

Burden of Proof

A logical fallacy occurring when someone claims a proposition is true because it has not yet been proven false, improperly shifting the responsibility of proof.

Genetic Fallacy

A logical fallacy evaluating the validity of an argument solely based on its historical origin or who proposed it, rather than its substance.

Special Pleading

A logical fallacy where an arguer applies an unjustified double standard or exemption to their own position without rationale.

Middle Ground

A logical fallacy claiming that a compromise or halfway point between two opposing arguments must necessarily be the correct position.

Post Hoc, Ergo, Propter Hoc

A logical fallacy that falsely assumes a causal relationship between two events solely because one occurred after the other.

Tu Quoque

A logical fallacy that dismisses an opponent's argument by accusing them of personal hypocrisy instead of answering the argument itself.

Circular Reasoning

A logical fallacy where an argument circles back to its initial premise, using the claim itself as the justification for the claim.

Ad Populum

A logical fallacy that appeals to popular sentiment, mass approval, or common belief to argue that a claim is correct.

3 things that make a source credible

Core criteria that establish source credibility include verified author expertise or credentials, publication by a reputable or peer-reviewed entity, and inclusion of citations or verifiable evidence.

3 things that make a source non-credible

Core indicators of a non-credible source include an anonymous or unqualified author, apparent commercial or emotional bias, and a lack of citations or verifiable references.

3 credible sites

Examples of credible online domains include accredited academic institution portals (.edu), official government websites (.gov), and peer-reviewed scholarly research databases.

3 non-credible sites

Examples of non-credible online sources include open-access user-edited forums, personal opinion blogs without editorial review, and satire or clickbait websites.

Confirmation Bias

The cognitive tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms preexisting beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence.