Logical Fallacies What are you thinking?

#1 Red Herring: Introduce an unrelated idea to take attention away from the point being challenged "Argument" for making grad school requirements stricter: "I think there is great merit in making the requirements stricter for the graduate students. I recommend that you support it, too. After all, we are in a budget crisis and we do not want our salaries affected."

#2 Faulty Analogy: compare two things that are not alike Teaching teens about sex is like taking an alcoholic into a bar.

#3 Ad Hominem: attack the opponent, not the argument You can't believe Jack when he says there isn't any God because he had an extramarital affair

#4 Misuse of Humor: funny yet deeply critical Can’t we just impeach Clinton from the waist down?

#5 Begging the Question: a restatement of the main argument without an explanation or reason Those atheists are immoral individuals.

#6 Circular Reasoning: go in circles without making any relevant facts or arguments We need more space because there are too many people.

#7 Past belief: Saying that the solution to a problem is how people have always done or believed something “Since seniors have always had open campus, it’s wrong to close campus now!” Teenagers have always disobeyed their parents, so don’t worry about it.

#8 Incorrect Fact: try to persuade by knowingly using wrong information Class sizes aren’t too large. There are only twenty students per teacher.

#9 Quote Out of Context: Quoting only part of the whole to support your argument Review reads -“Despite a truly terrific plot, Stiller’s new movie is long and tiresome.” -The Post –--> Ad reads… -“Ben Stiller’s new movie has a –‘truly terrific plot,’ according to –The Post!”

#10 Quick fix: using a catchy phrase or empty slogan to when arguing how to solve a complex problem “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” “Support the troops: Bring them home.”

#11 Either/Or: give only two possible positions in a complex situation “If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.” America: love it or leave it.

#12 Ad Populum, “To the People”: Appeal to the emotions of readers/ an audience A cowboy roping horses in Montana to advertise a pickup truck… “Like a rock” song Babies, cute animals, happy faces, flags, romance to advertise a car

#13 Contrary to fact (time machine): assuming a connection between past and present events that can’t actually be known “If he hadn’t been drinking at that party, he’d be alive today.” “If I had a better teacher last trimester, I’d be doing better this semester.”

#14 False Authority: using quotes/beliefs from a person who isn’t an expert Michael Jordan selling Hanes underwear. Joe Mauer says, “You can’t get better food than T.G.I. Fridays.”

#15 Appeal to Ignorance: UFO Fallacy…If you can’t prove it false, it must be true I believe in flying saucers and aliens. No one has ever proved they don’t exist!

#16 Appeal to Pity: make people feel sympathy, rather than use valid facts Please help these malnourished children of Ethiopia. Their survival depends on you.

#17 Plain folks: someone rich or famous claims to be ordinary A politician dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt for a campaign ad Peyton Manning saying, “I’m busy just like you. That’s why I use Travelocity to book my vacations. You should too.”

#18 Snob Appeal: believe this and you can be like the rich and famous Wear Helzberg diamonds and you can feel just like Princess Diana.

#19 Hasty Generalization: base an argument on weak, generalized, insufficient evidence If we elect him, all our taxes will surely go up.

#20 Bandwagon: everyone’s doing it “Join the network. Get Verizon Wirelss.” “Become a part of the millions who found financial freedom with MoneySmart.”

#21 Straw Man: divert attention away from an attack by focusing on a minor but related issue A student who is in the principal’s office for cheating on a math test says, “Joey was cheating on the test, too.”

#22 Non Sequitur: conclusion is not actually the result of the facts If corn bread is made from corn, and apple pie is made from apples, then what is your dog food made from?

#23 Post Hoc: (after this; therefore) mistaking a time relationship for a causal relationship It wasn’t until I got the cat that I began having sinus trouble.

#24 Oversimplification: give a simple cause to a complex effect I failed the class because the teacher didn’t like me.

#25 Composition: all, therefore one All the freshmen are nice kids. I just know that Sean Strong will be a great kid.

#26 Division: one, therefore all Officer Jones is a real jerk. I hate cops.

#27 Two wrongs make a right: argue that others are doing like you, so it must be okay (even if the action is wrong) “Why did you stop me for speeding? I was going the same speed as everybody else!”