Philosophy

• Slippery Slope – Claiming one step will inevitably lead to extreme consequences.
• False Cause / Post hoc – Assuming causation just because one thing follows another.
• Gambler’s Fallacy – Believing past random events affect future probabilities.
• Sunk Cost – Continuing something just because you’ve already invested in it.

• False dilemma (bifurcation) – Only two options given when more exist.
• Line Drawing – Assuming there must be a clear line (e.g., “when exactly does a person become bald?”).
• Perfectionist – Rejecting an idea because it isn’t perfect.
• Normative/Descriptive Fallacy – Confusing “what is” (descriptive) with “what ought to be” (normative).

• Weak Analogy – Comparing things that aren’t truly alike.
• Genetic Fallacy – Judging something solely by its origin.


• Ad hominem (personal attack) – Attacking the person, not the argument.
• Two Wrongs Make a Right – Justifying wrongdoing because others do it.
• Begging the Question / Circular Reasoning – Argument assumes what it’s trying to prove.


• Hasty Generalization – Drawing a conclusion from too little evidence.
• Accident – Misapplying a general rule to an exceptional case.
• Division – Assuming what’s true of the whole is true of the parts.
• Composition – Assuming what’s true of parts is true of the whole.

• Appeal to Ignorance – Claiming something is true because it hasn’t been proven false.
• Appeal to Tradition – Arguing something is right because it’s always been done.
• Appeal to Force – Using threat or coercion instead of logic.
• Appeal to Pity – Relying on sympathy instead of evidence.
• Appeal to Authority – Treating authority as conclusive proof.
• Mob Appeal – “Everyone’s doing it.”
• Snob Appeal – “Only the elite/special do it.”


• Normative – Concerned with what ought to be; how things should be.
• Descriptive – Concerned with what is; how things actually are.
• Positive Duty – Duty to help (e.g., assist someone in need); Duty of action.
• Negative Duty – Duty to avoid harm (e.g., don’t steal); Duty of inaction.

Golden Mean – virtue lies between two extremes (deficiency & excess).


• Telos – Goal, purpose, or end of a thing.
• Eudaimonia – Human flourishing, the ultimate good life.
• Soundness – Argument is valid and has true premises.
• Validity – If premises are true, conclusion must be true.
• Philosophy — love of wisdom.