Logical Fallacies

Ad Hominem Fallacy

the phrase refers to the **diversionary** tactic of switching the argument from the issue at hand to the **character** of the other speaker

* “Attack the character”
* Opposing argument is false on the basis of the character making the argument
* Ex: Bring it on is not a good movie because you are an ignorant american
* Attacks the **characteristics** of the person rather than the claim they make 
* Person makes claim X, person B disregards the claim and attacks person A, therefore claim X is false

Ad Populum Fallacy

appeals to what is **popular** with the majority rather than the validity of the argument

* Bandwagon
* Argument based on how many people believe something is true
* Ex. “The moon is made of cheese because a lot of people believe it is” - This is false
* No logical bearing 

Slippery Slope Fallacy:

a party asserts that a relatively small step leads to a chain of events culminating in some significant (usually negative) events

* “**One thing will inevitably result in another**” when in reality, the events are uncorrelated 
* Ex. Bart becoming a vampire will lead to him smoking - this has no correlation
* An act against social norms will inevitably lead to another even though they have nothing related with each other 

Faulty Analogy

when two things are **compared that are not comparable**; usually the focus is on irrelevant similarities 

* When two things are portrayed as alike when actually they are not 
* Ex: Stealing bread to feed a family = stealing cigarettes to sell to others
* Comparison is not justified

Hasty Generalization

a conclusion is made when there is **insufficient evidence** to support it 

* Taco bell = dude magnet

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

establishes a **false cause** for the issue at hand

* “After this, therefore because of this”
* Ex: rooster crows because the sun rises, the sun rises because the rooster crows
* Since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X

Either/or Reasoning

Two **extreme options** are the only solutions

* AKA false dilemmas 
* No in-between
* Ex: “Either you’re with us, or you’re the enemy”
* With us or against us

Straw Man Fallacy

attacks the argument that **no one is really making or portraying** the opponent's position as more extreme than it actually is

* Speaker sets up an argument that is easily knocked down, proceeds to do so, and then claims victory over an opponent who may not even exist
* Can be **oversimplification**
* Shift blame away from the actual issue 
* Arguments that attempt to divert our attention from the real issue being put forth 
* A **version of the argument** that is **misrepresented, exaggerated, misrepresented or distorted** from the original argument 
* Easily defeated 
* No longer arguing about the same point
* Arguer misrepresents an opponent’s position. Same topic but exaggerated

Red Herring

redirecting an audience's attention, away from the issue at hand

* An irrelevant distraction from the main argument
* Distracting enough for the audience to want to be diverted from the original argument 
* Raising a new issue that isn’t relevant 
* Avoid engaging in the original argument by subtly changing the subject
* Arguer tries to distract the attention of the audience by raising an irrelevant issue. Change topics

Circular Reasoning

repeating the claim as a way to provide evidence 

* Ex: you change your number, but argue that it’s not new just changed

Non Sequitur

one point does not logically follow from another

* Broken logic
* Ex: “magnet attracts an object, magnets attract iron, therefore the object is made of iron” - faulty reasoning (object can be another metal)

Equivocation

writer/speaker **misleads** the audience with using a word that has a double or **ambiguous meaning**

* Ex: “no car is better than a rolls royce, my car is better than no car, therefore my car is better than a rolls royce”

Evading the Burden of Truth

the fallacy that occurs when someone assumes they do not have to support their claims with evidence or proof. They may **deny** it, pretend to have fulfilled it, or **shift responsibility** to someone else

* Assuming a claim is true because it hasn’t been proven false
* No evidence for the claim 
* Ex: Santa Claus is real. He’s never been seen because he only comes when everyone is asleep. 
* Ex: the belief that God is real. You can’t prove that God does or does not exist.

Poisoning the Well

an informal fallacy where **adverse information** about a target is preemptively presented to an audience, with the **intention of discrediting** or ridiculing something that the target person is about to say

* Examples in politics (aka Trump dissing on other candidates)

Appeal to false authority

a fallacious argument that relies on the statements of a **false authority figure**, who is framed as a credible authority on the topic being discussed

* Ex. listening listen to what an uneducated actor has to say when it comes to different types of medical treatments 
* Ex: an influencer advertising for a product they don’t know much about, but can appeal to the audience solely because they like the influencer