Logical Fallacies Group A

Attack on the person (ad hominem – against the man)
This fallacy attacks the individual, not the argument being made (the argument must be the focus)
E.g. Stephen Harper may have had his reasons for buying the pandas, but he only did that because he is a robot with no soul or emotion, concerned only with wasting taxpayers’ money.

Justifying a practice just because it is a tradition is not appropriate because the tradition itself is being called into question
E.g. It is a tradition that the man proposes to the bride. Times are changing, but this is the tradition

When an argument attacks the credibility of a person/group on the grounds that the person/group’s motives are perceived as the real reason for their view.
E.g. A student council president argued that the school should cancel the dance. He/she only argued this because it conflicted with his/her hockey schedule.

The argument asserts that if most people accept this, then it must be true. NOT! The majority can be wrong
Used often in advertising
E.g. Many people buy iPhones, so you should too!
Can be used in social practices as well
E.g. Many people say it is unacceptable to pick your nose in public. Therefore, you should not pick your nose in public
A cogent claim will focus on why the behavior is unacceptable, not simply because the majority of people disapprove

This occurs when there is a misrepresentation of another argument. This makes it easier to knock down the argument
E.g. Mental capacity is the criterion used to judge whether or not painful experiments should be tested on humans or animals. This is then reinterpreted to mean that an animal's life is less valuable than a human’s life.