NEGATIVE PERSUASION TECHNIQUES LOGICAL FALLACIES

AD HOMINEM ATTACKS An attack on a person’s character, not his or her ideas

FALSE CAUSALITY An assumption that because A happened before B, A caused B.

RED HERRING Something a speaker tosses into an argument to distract listeners from a more important issue or question.

A “Red Herring” essentially changes the subject. Example: “President Obama authorized a bill giving cash rebates for people who buy new cars, including foreign cars. But some people don’t really take care of their cars. Have you ever gone by a house where someone just leaves their car permanently on blocks out in their front yard? What an eyesore! Clearly, Mr. Obama was wrong to sign that bill.” One has absolutely nothing to do with the other – it’s just a distraction.

OVERGENERALIZATION A conclusion based on too little evidence.

My father smoked four packs of cigarettes a day since age fourteen and lived until age sixty-nine. Therefore, smoking really can’t be that bad for you. Explanation: It is extremely unreasonable (and dangerous) to draw a universal conclusion about the health risks of smoking by the case study of one man. Four out of five dentists recommend Happy Glossy Smiley toothpaste brand. Therefore, it must be great. Explanation: It turns out that only five dentists were actually asked. When a random sampling of 1000 dentists were polled, only 20% actually recommended the brand. The four out of five result was not necessarily a biased sample or a dishonest survey, it just happened to be a statistical anomaly common among small samples.

BANDWAGON The assumption that something is right because it’s popular.