1. Logic Fallacies Debate Class Production Spain Park High School
Hoover, Alabama

2. Definition of a Logic Fallacy
ARGUMENT RESPONSE or
PERSUASION METHOD
that seems to make sense
but does not really make sense
that seems to be logical
but is not really logical

3. Ad Hominem (Personal Attack)
Ad hominem arguments
seek to discredit positions by discrediting those
who hold those positions.
Definition: attacking the character
of the person advancing the argument.

4. Bandwagon Fallacy
Definition: proving an argument or persuading others by citing its growing popularity

5. Gambler’s Fallacy
Definition: believing that a random event can become non-random
Slide by Robert James

6. Genetic Fallacy
Definition: when an idea is either accepted or rejected because of its source, rather than its merit.
Source:

7. Moralistic Fallacy
Definition: the informal fallacy of assuming that whichever aspect of nature which has socially unpleasant consequences cannot exist

8. Naturalistic Fallacy
Definition: Uses statements about how things should be to prove statements about how things are.

9. Red Herring
Definition: A completely irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue.

10. Weak Analogy
Definition: comparing two or more things that aren't genuinely comparable.
Slide by Tyler Pennington

11. The following fallacies are Irrelevant Appeals.
Definition: influencing what people think without using true evidence
Slide by (Brad Prosch)

12. Appeal to Antiquity/Tradition
Definition: This fallacy assumes that older ideas are better, that the fact that an idea has been around for a while implies that it is true.

13. Appeal to Authority
Definition: proving or persuading by someone who claims to be an authority

14. Appeal to Consequences
Definition: an attempt to convince by suggesting good consequences for believing or bad consequences for not believing.

15. Appeal to Force Definition: an attempt to persuade using threats.
Latin name “argumentum ad baculum” literally means “argument with a cudgel”.

16. Appeal to Novelty
Definition: claims that an idea or proposal is correct or superior, exclusively because it is new and modern

17. Appeal to Pity
Definition: attempts to persuade using emotion—specifically, sympathy—rather than evidence.

18. Appeal to Popularity
Definition: an idea must be true simply because it is widely held.
This is a fallacy because popular opinion can be, and quite often is, mistaken. Hindsight makes this clear.

19. Appeal to Poverty
Definition: an argument based on how poor a person or thing is
Slide by Chandler Moore

20. Appeal to Wealth
Definition: an argument that assumes that someone is better simply because they are wealthier or that something has better quality simply because it’s more expensive.
listrocker.com motifake.com
Slide by (Austin Moore)

21. Fallacy of Ambiguity
Definition: The presence of two or more possible meanings in any passage. Also, a fallacy in which the same term is used in more than one way

22. Accent Fallacies
Definition: Accent fallacies are fallacies that change the meaning of a set of words based on how they are spoken.

23. Arguing from Ignorance
Definition: saying something must be false if there is no proof that it’s true OR saying something is true if there is no proof it is false.

24. Begging the Question / Circular Reasoning
Definition: Attempt to defend a claim by using the claim itself
Slide by Emily Hale

25. Complex Question Fallacy
Definition: an unfair phrasing of a question that makes it impossible to answer yes or no

26. Cum Hoc Fallacy
Definition: when it is assumed that because two things occur together, they must be causally related. This, however, does not follow; correlation is possible without causation.

27. False Dilemma / Bifurcation Fallacy
Definition: A limited number of options (usually two) is given, while in reality there are more options.

28. Hasty Generalization Fallacy
Definition: A hasty generalization draws a general rule from a single, perhaps atypical, case. It is the reverse of a sweeping generalization – see next slide

29. Sweeping Generalization Fallacy
Definition: Applies a general statement too broadly. (different from hasty generalization – see previous slide)

30. Post Hoc Fallacy
Definition: declares proof by saying: After this, therefore because of this

31. Slippery Slope
These arguments falsely assume that one thing must automatically lead to another.

32. Subjectivist Fallacy
Definition: disbelieving a conclusion by saying it is not a fact, just an opinion

33. Tu Quoque Fallacy
Definition: assuming that because someone else has done a thing, there is nothing wrong with doing it.

34. Sources