Fallacies

Fallacies

• A logical fallacy is an argument form that is logically weak yet often disproportionately persuasive.

Fallacies List

• Fallacies of Distraction
  • Red Herring (Non-Sequitur, Irrelevant Reason, Irrelevant Conclusion, Whataboutism)
    • Bringing up irrelevant consideration or changing the subject. Example:
      • “A criminal can fall on a steak knife and sue the person whose house they broke into. That’s why the justice system should be eye-for-an-eye.”
      • “I understand that you in the media want to know how I’ll respond to the allegations of corruption. But the important thing to focus on right now is the economy.”
  • Improper Appeal to Emotion
    • Persuading by evoking emotion that is inappropriate for the situation, out of proportion, or irrelevant to the conclusion
      • Pity: “How can you give me a bad grade on the test? My mom is in a coma.”
      • Fear: “There’s an invasion of illegal aliens poisoning the blood of our country!”
• Fallacies of Illicit Presumption
  • Begging the Question (Circular Reasoning)
    • Assuming that which needs to be proven
    • The conclusion is already assumed in the premises or is a premise reworded
    • Rely on A to prove B & vice versa
    • Assuming the truth of a crucial premise that is in dispute & needs a subargument
    • To prove one thing, appeal to something at least as hard to prove
    • Argument relies on already believing conclusion or dismissing objection
    • Example: “Capital punishment is just because murderers should be put to death.”
  • Equivocation (Fallacy of Ambiguity)
    • The meaning of a word shifts over the course of an argument
    • Example: “Logic teaches you how to make arguments. Getting in arguments with your spouse can lead to divorce. So if you want a happy marriage, stay away from logic.”
• Fallacies of Weak Induction
  • Hasty Generalization (Anecdotal Evidence)
    • Making an inference from a sample that is too small or unrepresentative
    • Example: “My girlfriend cheated on me. Therefore, girls are evil.”
  • Faulty Analogy (False Analogy, Weak Analogy, Questionable Analogy)
    • Analogical argument where analogues not really similar in ways relevant to conclusion
    • Example: “Prince was short just like Kevin Hart, so he must have been funny too.”
• Genetic Fallacies
  • Improper Appeal to Authority
    • Argument from authority other than consensus of relevant experts in descriptive domain
    • Example: “That has to be true because Simon says so.”
  • Appeal to Popularity (Ad Populum, Bandwagon Fallacy, Fallacy of Numbers)
    • A claim is purported to be true because many people (non-experts) believe it.
    • Example: “Most people agree on this, so it must be true.”
• Genetic Fallacies 2
  • Appeal to Tradition
    • A claim is purported to be true because it is part of a certain tradition.
    • Examples:
      • “We know we can believe this because it has long been a teaching of the Church.”
      • “It’s the American way.”
  • Naturalistic Fallacy (Is-Ought Fallacy, Appeal to Nature)
    • Argument with normative conclusion but all descriptive premises, including claiming that something is good/bad because it’s natural/unnatural
    • Examples:
      • “People have many different views on morality. Therefore, all their views are equally right.”
      • “Cloning is unnatural. Therefore, it’s immoral.”
      • “This vitamin is all-natural, so it must be good for you.”
• Genetic Ad Hominem Fallacies
  • Ad Hominem (Against the Person, Abusive Fallacy, Personal Attack)
    • Aiming to discredit someone’s argument based on an irrelevant personal attack
    • Example: “Your argument is weak because you’re ugly!”
  • Circumstantial Fallacy (Circumstantial Ad Hominem, Guilt by Association)
    • Dismissing someone’s argument based on their circumstances or identity
    • Example: “Of course you would argue for low taxes as a rich person – you just want to keep hoarding money.”
• Causal Fallacies
  • Post Hoc (Post hoc, ergo propter hoc: “After this, therefore because of this”)
    • Concluding that A causes B just because A is followed by B.
    • Example: “My friend got vaccinated and then died 2 years later. The vaccine must have killed him.”
  • Cum Hoc (“With this, therefore b/c of this”; Correlation Implies Causation Fallacy)
    • Concluding that A causes B just because A and B are correlated.
    • Example: “People with gray hair are more likely to need hearing aids. Therefore, gray hair causes hearing loss.”
• Fallacies of Exaggeration
  • Slippery Slope Fallacy
    • Claiming that something will cause chain reaction without good reason for believing this
    • Example: “If we get rid of affirmative action, then before you know it we’ll be going back to segregation, and eventually we’ll have slavery again.”
  • False Dilemma (False Dichotomy, Black-or-White, Either-Or, Excluded Middle)
    • Claiming there are some limited # of alternatives (usually 2) when there are really more
    • Example: “If you’re not with us, then you’re against us.”
• Formal (Deductive) Fallacies
  • Affirming the Consequent (Mixed up Modus Ponens)
    • If p, then q. q. Therefore p.
    • Example: “If you are in State College, then you are in PA. You are in PA. Therefore, you are in State College.”
  • Denying the Antecedent (Mixed up Modus Tollens)
    • If p, then q. Not p. Therefore, not q.
    • Example: “If you are in State College, then you are in PA. You’re not in State College. Therefore, you’re not in PA.”
• Dialectical Fallacies
  • Appeal to Ignorance (Ad Ignorantium; Arg. from Absence of Evidence, Shifting the Burden of Proof)
    • Claiming that something is true merely because of lack of evidence that it’s false
    • Examples:
      • “You can’t prove unicorns don’t exist. Therefore, they must exist.”
      • “It’s a mystery that we can never know for sure. So we’ll just assume my view is right.”
  • Strawman Fallacy (Straw Person)
    • Misrepresenting someone’s argument in order to refute it more easily
    • Example:
      • Initial Argument: “Pancakes are good to get for breakfast because they’re tasty and cheap.”
      • Response: “So you’re saying you hate waffles?”