Rhetorical Fallacies

Slippery slope: We can’t do ________. That would lead to _______ which would lead to ________. youtube.com/ watch?v=9gJI bCfMy9U Direct TV Commercials youtube.com/ watch?v=U9X UHi_LinQ youtube.com/ watch?v=qOR Uq1uyJ5Q youtube.com/ watch?v=xHs8 OlXBFVs

What slippery slope argument might someone against gun-control make? They can’t take away ______! That would lead to ________, which would lead to _______!

"A free people ought to be armed." - George Washington

Emotional Appeal – argument based on playing with emotions

What’s another way of getting people to adopt a pet?

Correlation Causation Just because they go together, doesn’t mean that one caused the other.

What’s something a lot of prisoners might enjoy… but has nothing to do with a life of crime?

Argument from authority I’m right because __________ agrees with me! I’m right because I’m a doctor, and I should know! I’m right because the Constitution agrees with me!

Ad Hominem Name calling! Attacking the person instead of the issue.

(Ad Hominem is also a death metal band…)

Give a real world example of ad hominem.

What would make you want to vote for someone?

How might someone make an argument from authority in a commercial?

Categorical Claim A stereotypical statement. All ________s must _________. Republicans must care about personal freedom! True Texans vote for gun rights!

How did Malcolm X make a categorical claim?

Hasty Generalization This occurs when you come to a conclusion after a small amount of evidence. The first day of the class was boring, so the class is going to stink. Today is warm! Ha, I knew global warming was fake!

Real world example… Explain why good scientists repeat experiments many times.

Argument from Analogy Using comparisons to make a point. _____ led to ______, so ______ must lead to _________. The Vietnam War led to innocent civilian deaths, so this war will too. ______ is like _____, so _____. The universe is like a complex watch, so it must have had a maker too.

Example of argument from analogy… When we look at people from the 1960’s we think __________ ; therefore, people in the future will probably think we ____________.

Circular Argument Using the thing you want to prove in your argument. Smoking is bad for your health because it causes health issues. Video games are addictive because they cause people to play them more and more.

Example of circular argument Freedom of speech is important because…

Post Hoc Fallacy: false cause and effect A came before B, so A must have caused B. People who drank Gatorade before the game did pretty well… Gatorade must give you powers!

How could Post Hoc create superstitions (strange beliefs)?

Bandwagon This is popular, so it must be right/good!