Fallacies List Fallacies are illogical arguments that are in common usage. Fallacies are used by those who lack critical thinking skills, but they are also employed by those who wish to manipulate others.

Ambiguity Equivocation Non Sequitor Composition Division

Equivocation Words with multiple meanings or interpretations misconstrued. “The “Declaration of Independence” states that “all men are created equal,” so women shouldn’t be allowed to vote.”

Division Similar to stereotyping: what is true of a whole is assumed to be true for all of its parts. “Samantha is German, and Germans drink a lot beer, so Samantha drinks a lot of beer.”

Presumption Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc Distorting the facts Many Questions Hasty Generalization Slippery Slope False Analogy Straw Man Special Pleading False Choice Oversimplification Red Herring

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc Assumes that if one even preceded another, the first caused the second. “Dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago. My girlfriend cheated on me yesterday. If dinosaurs were still around, this never would have happened.”

Distorting the Facts Misleading use of facts in one’s favor. “A congressman takes a snowball from outside into the a congressional meeting. He states that because the snow exists, global warming is not a reality.”

Many Questions Asking a question that assumes several premises that have not been demonstrated. “How many speedo’s did you steal form Mr. Page’s house last night?”

Hasty Generalization The size of the sample is too small to support the conclusion. “The fastest swimmer in school is ugly, so all fast swimmers are ugly.”

Slippery Slope Someone asserting that one event will inevitably lead to another without rational basis. “If you smoke marijuanna, you’ll end up doing harder drugs.”

False Analogy In an analogy, two objects (or events), A and B are shown to be similar. Then it is argued that since A has property P, so also must B have property P. An analogy fails when the two objects, A and B, are different in a way which affects whether they both have property P. “Women are like Sharks. Telling a woman “I love you” is like jumping into a pool of sharks with cuts and a bloody piece of meat.”

False Choice Suggesting that only two choices exist when, in fact, there are more. “Math is a tough subject – you either understand it or you don’t.”

Oversimplification Explaining an even by relying on casual factors that are insufficient to account for the event or by overemphasizing the role of one or more factors. “Coach says that the reason his team won their last game is because the team had a high carbohydrate meal before the game.”

Straw Man Reframing or re-wording your opponent’s words to make them easier to dismiss. “Obama is an anti-baby president.”

Red Herring Something intended to be misleading or distracting. “Vivid description of a masked intruder who enters the room where the murdered person is found. These descriptions lead the reader to assume that this masked intruder is the killer.”

Relevance You Too Genetic Appeal to Ignorance Ad Hominem Appeal to Authority Appeal to Fear Appeal to Tradition

You Too Arguing against the character of your opponent instead of their argument. “You can’t tell me to take a shower because you haven’t showered in three days!”

Genetic Is commite3d when an idea is either accepted or rejected because of its source, rather than its merit. “My mommy told me the tooth fairy is real” -Therefore- “The tooth fairy is real”

Ad Hominem Appealing to one’s prejudices, emotions, or special interests. Attacking one’s character. “Sally argues for a better healthcare system. Sam questions the audience whether they should believe anything from a woman who isn’t married and was once arrested.”

Appeal to Ignorance The assumption of a conclusion or fact based primarily on lack of evidence to the contrary. Usually best described by, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” “Although we have proven that the moon is not made of spare ribs, we have not proven that its core cannot be filled with them; therefore, the moon’s core is filled with spare ribs.”

Appeal to Authority Using an authority as evidence in an argument where the authority has no authority on the subject. “My dad says the sky is purple. My dad doesn’t lie, so, therefore, the sky is purple.”

Appeal to Fear Making threats to win your case. “If you don’t buy my 1984 Chevy Nova, I’ll run over your dog.”

Appeal to Tradition Using historical preferences of the people (tradition) either in general or specific as the historical preferences of a single individual as evidence that the historical preference is correct. “Marriage has traditionally been between a man and woman; therefore, gay marriage should not be allowed.”