2. Fallacies of Logical Argument (Logos) (7 in Total)

3. drawing a general and premature conclusion on the basis of only one or two cases. It is basically an inference drawn from insufficient evidence. This fallacy forms the basis for most stereotypes about people or institutions: because a few people in a large group are observed to act in a certain way, one infers that all members of that group will behave similarly.

4. Dallas Police Chief Christopher Michaels suggested that all dogs be muzzled because two Golden Retrievers have been biting people in Fritz Park. My Honda broke down. Honda’s are junk! Women are bad drivers. Irish people are drunks.

5. “after this, therefore because of this”, the “faulty causality” fallacy, assuming that an incident that precedes another is the cause of the second incident

6. Antionette worked on her written assignment longer than she had for any other essay; therefore, she felt she must earn an “A”. A writer sued Coors claiming that drinking too much beer kept him from writing a novel. (unsuccessfully) Doctors have recently found that when elderly people fall and are found to have broken legs, the break usually caused the fall rather than the other way around.

7. Politicians are always involved with faulty causality (both for them and against them). When economic issues are improving they take the credit and when they are declining they receive the blame, even though (often) individual politicians such as the president actually can do very little to control huge systems like the national economy.

8. taking for granted something that really needs proving. It is when a claim is made on grounds that cannot be accepted as true because those grounds are in doubt. It is a form of circular reasoning where the logic moves you backwards instead of forwards.

9. Claim + Reason : You can’t give me a “C” because I’m an “A” student. Warrant  An “A” student is someone who can’t receive “C”s. Claim + Reason: Congressman Smith can’t be guilty of adultery because he is a good husband. Warrant  A good husband cannot be guilty of adultery.

10. an argument that gives a lie an honest appearance; it’s a half-truth.

11. A student that plagiarized a paper by copying it word-for-word from another student claims correctly that, “It isn’t plagiarism, I wrote the whole thing myself.” The student actually did write it, but it was copied. Bill Clinton famously said, “I never had sex with that women” during the Monica Lewinsky hearings. TECHNICALLY they never had sex, if we follow the exact, or most commonly accepted, definition of sex. Currently you will hear equivocation surrounding the word “torture”. Words like “enhanced interrogation” will be used to avoid using a loaded word like torture.

12. “it does not follow”, an inference or conclusion that does not follow established premises or evidence. An argument where claims, reasons, or warrants fail to connect logically.

13. “He is certainly a sincere person; he must be right.” “She’s the most popular: she should be president.” “You don’t love me, you didn’t buy me that bike!”

14. when you attack an argument that isn’t there to avoid attacking a stronger argument. Straw men are easy to knock down, just as weaker or more extreme arguments are easier to knock down.

15. If you are pro-choice, you are pro-death to children. You gave me an “F”, why do you hate me?

16. an analogy compares two things that have some sort of similar characteristics. Analogies are helpful for understanding unfamiliar ideas by comparing them with something already known. But they can be false or can be pushed too far.

17. Intelligent Design theory claims the following: The universe is like an intricate watch. A watch must have been designed by a watchmaker. Therefore, the universe must have been designed by some kind of creator

18. Create an example of each of these!