Logical Fallacies

1. Non Sequitur (Latin for “It does not follow”) Stating a conclusion that doesn’t follow from the first premise or premises. E.g. “I’ve lived in this town for a long time - why, my grandfather was the first mayor - so I’m against putting fluoride in the drinking water”

2. Oversimplification Supplying neat and easy explanations for large and complicated phenomena. E.g. “These scientists are always messing around with the mood and planets; that’s why the climate is changing nowadays.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snpq G3h6pY8

3. Either/or Reasoning Assuming that a reality may be divided into only two parts or extremes; assuming that a given problem has only one of two possible solutions. E.g. “What do we do about these sheiks who keep jacking up oil prices? Either we kowtow to ‘em, or we bomb ‘em off the face of the earth, right?” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpPA BLW6F_A

4. Argument from Doubtful or Unidentified Authority E.g. “According to reliable sources, my opponent is lying.” OR, e.g. “Certainly we ought to castrate all sex offenders; Uncle Oswald says we should.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwA aHbmF5S4

5. Argumentation Ad Hominem In Latin this means, “argument to the man” Attacking a person’s views by attacking his or her character E.g. “Mayor Burns was seen with a prostitute on Taylor Street. How can we listen to his plea for a city nursing home?” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-EEETo3Sqo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qKps7uG6eM

6. Begging the Question Taking for granted from the start what you set out to demonstrate. When you reason in a logical way, you state that because something is true, then, as a result, some other truth follows. When you beg the question, however, you repeat that what is true is true. E.g. “I should go to college because that is the right thing to do. Going to college is the right thing to do because it is expected of me.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CVbku6nxh U

Post Hoc ergo Propter Hoc In Latin this means, “after this, therefore because of this” Confusing cause and effect http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRJU vFG8gbE

8. Argument from Analogy Using an extended metaphor as though it offers evidence. E.g. Pierre Berton, a Canadian journalist, once wrote an article called, ‘Is There a Teacher in the House?’ satirizing opponents of public health care.