fallacies for ap lang
Appeal to Popularity:
Definition: Justifying your decision by suggesting that others have done it as well, so you have to do it.
Example: Child: Can I go to the sleepover tonight?
Mom: No, i already said that you can’t go to sleepovers”
Kid: But, Avery, Stephanie, Jack, Nolan, and Eric are all going.
Is it effective?: It wouldn’t be persuasive enough to the parents to let the kid go. It doesn’t support why the kid should go, just bc everyone else is going
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Faulty appeal to authority:
Definition: using an alleged authority as evidence in your argument when the authority is not really an authority on the facts relevant to the argument.
Example:
Kid; my friend Eric says Mr Labomba is a mean teacher.
Parent: “Just bc eric says he’s mean doesn’t mean its true” Heinrichs
Is it effective?: As the audience, allowing an irrelevant authority to add credibility to the claim being made.
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False analogy/ dilemma/dichotomy:
Definition: I can do this well, so I can do that unrelated thing just as well
Example: “If im a successful businessman. ELect me mayor and I’ll run a successful city”
Is it effective?:
It can mislead the audience to believing something that isn’t logically correct in the sense that it doesn’t make sense with the usage of logic.
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Hasty generalization:
Definition: making a claim on an insufficient amount of data( too little)
Example: A commercial claiming that 9 out of 10 doctors recommend something” the three people i've talked to in ny are bilingual. This means everyone in NY is bilingual.
Is this effective ? “it results in poor decisions and stereotyping. When people make claims based on limited evidence, the results can not only be wrong but dangerous
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post hoc/Chanticleer fallacy:
Definition: the fallacy that arises when the reasoning uses a casual relationship based on sequential events to reach conclusion.
Example: Yesterday I ate blueberries and today I have a headache. The blueberries must have caused the headache.
Is it effective? : It can lead to errors in decision making.
Arguments that commit the post hoc fallacy can sometimes reach correct or partially correct conclusions, but the reasoning behind the argument is nevertheless unsound
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begging the question :
Definition: You are making a claim based on the true assumption without presenting a reason to believe it
Example:” The ocean is blue because the sky is blue”
Is it effective?
People use it to cause someone to ask a specified question as a reaction or response or to ignore a question or issue by assuming it has been answered or settled.
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Unit fallacy
Definition: Fallacy of numbers that mistake one kind of unit for another. Fallacy that a larger unit has a lesser price
Example: Selling larger detergent in a smaller box can trick customers into thinking that it's a better deal to buy rather than the smaller box.
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fallacy of antecedent:
Definition: Assuming that something is true just because it happened once or assuming that something isn’t true because it hasn’t happened.
Example: It never happened before, so it never will. Or it happened once, so it will happen again.”
Is it effective?: It would be persuasive in areas of sports, politics, or in general places where people are often judged. Overall, it is primarily the most persuasive when it comes to things that are judged primarily on their history and past.
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Slippery slope
Definition: When a small action causes a snowballing effect of events, ultimately leading to an extreme outcome.
Example: If you fail a quiz in AP language And Composition, you will fail the class. If you fail the class then you will fail junior year. If you fail junior year, then you won’t graduate high school and then you won’t be able to go to college and the rest of your life will be ruined!
Is it effective? : In a slippery slope argument, a course of action is rejected because, with little or no evidence, one insists that it will lead to a chain reaction resulting in an undesirable end or end. The slippery slope involves an acceptance of a succession of events without direct evidence that this course of events will happen.
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appeal to ignorance
Definition: When you argue your argument is true because there is no opposing evidence
Example: “Even though there are no reviews, this ice cream place must be good because there are no bad reviews”
Is it effective?: it's not logical and it lacks substance
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Straw man
Definition: the distortion of someone else's argument to make it easier to attack or refute
Example: claiming that all vegans are opposed to all forms of animal captivity, including pet ownership
Is it effective? : It's very effective and easy to fall into
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Red herring
Definition: An attempt to redirect the conversation away from the original issue
example : Politician avoiding a question and talking about something else in Presidential debate
Is it effective? : The red herring fallacy is a problem because it is flawed reasoning. It is a distraction device that causes people to become sidetracked from the main issue and draw wrong conclusions. Although a red herring may have some kernel of truth, it is used as a distraction to keep our eyes on a different matter.
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appeal to tradition:
Definition: The assumption that doing something has advantages or disadvantages just because it is a traditional practice that has been done for a long time.
Example: People have been using leeches as medicine for centuries, so they must be the best form of medicine
Is it effective? ; This assumption makes the old practice seem better than any new practice. It’s Fallacious because new things can be better.
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All natural fallacy
Definition: The belief that someone's behavior is acceptable and natural as a result of what is found as normal in society.
Example: “This doughnut has purple, and purple is a fruit, so you should eat this doughnut.”
Is it effective?: It can be persuasive during wellness and health claims, major companies can claim that they are made with organic ingredients so people think they are good, when they are not
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ad hominem
Definition: attacks that are directed at a person instead of the actual argument
Example: “Did you just use the word “smart” with me?
Effectiveness: Ad hominem attacks have the potential to be both fallacious and effective.