REASONING Fallacies and What They Look Like

LOGICAL FALLACIES A fallacy is a mistake in logic or reasoning Hurt arguments a ton There are many different kinds of fallacies

HASTY GENERALIZATION When the writer makes a claim based on an isolated example  Example: Bob is left-handed. He is very creative. Left handed people are creative.

OVERGENERALIZATION When the writer fails to qualify a claim and says “it is always true” instead of “it may be true”  Example: Men perform better in high stress jobs.

SLIPPERY SLOPE When the writer argues that taking one step will lead to undesirable step inevitably  Example: The legalization of euthanasia will ultimately lead to our killing the homeless, the handicapped, and the elderly.

FALSE ANALOGY When 2 cases are not sufficiently parallel to lead readers to accept the claim  What the police did to Rodney King was exactly like what the Nazis did to the Jews.

FALSE USE OF AUTHORITY When the writer uses an expert in a different field then the topic to back up their point  Example: If Oprah recommends She’s Come Undone, it must be a great book!

EITHER/OR REASONING When the writer reduces the issue to only two options that are polar opposites  Example: Either we choose democracy or we choose anarchy.

OVERSIMPLIFICATION When an argument obscures or denies the complexity of the issue  Example: The welfare system’s problems can be solved if we enroll its recipients in job training programs.