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Logical Fallacies - AP Language & Composition Flashcards

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7311240205BandwagonArguments that urge people to follow the same path everyone else is taking. They recommend a course of action b/c everyone else is doing it.0
7311240206Red HerringDodges main issue. Topic A is under discussion; Topic B is introduced under the guise of being relevant to topic A (it really isn't, however) Topic A is abandoned.1
7311240207EquivocationArgument that gives a lie an honest appearance; a half truth. Juvenile tricks of language. Bill Clinton's "I never had sex with that woman" - loosely defined sex2
7311240208Hasty GeneralizationInference drawn from inadequate evidence, and it jumps to conclusions. Forms the basis for most stereotypes about people or institutions: because a few people in a large group are observed and act in a certain way, all members of that group are inferred to act similarly.3
7311240209Ad HominemThese arguments are directed at the character of a person rather than at the argument or claim he or she makes. Turns argument into two sides: Good guy vs. Bad guy4
7311240210Ad PopulumAppeal to the populus; under bandwagon umbrella. Appeal to the popularity of a claim as a reason for accepting it.5
7311240211Faulty AnalogyThe argument that gives an analogy that doesn't hold together; the compared parts are dissimilar. Meant to help reason a circumstance b/c people are more inclined to believe a comparison.6
7311240212Begging the QuestionAssuming as true the very claim that is being disputed - form of circular argument that is divorce from reality. Most basic examples involve rephrasing. Similar to Nonsequitor.7
7311240213Either/Or Choice Also known as "Hobson's Choice" on the AP test :)A way to simplify arguments and give them power is to reduce the options for action to only two choices. One option favorable, the other not so much.8
7311240214The Straw ManAttacking an argument that is not there; it is much weaker than the point the opponent makes. The speaker is setting up an argument that is easy to knock down, proceeds to do so, and then claims victory over the opponent.9
7311240215Complex QuestionTwo-pronged question (combines two questions, one is implied). Involves an implicit argument, which is intended to trap the respondent into acknowledging something that he or she might not otherwise not want to acknowledge. Ex. When did you stop stealing?10
7311240216NonsequitorIn this argument, the reasoning does not hold together; it fails to connect logically. One point does not follow from the other. Ex. If my teacher really liked me, he would give me an A. Can be seen as similar to begging the question, mainly because the dots don't really connect.11
7311240217Slippery SlopeWriter exaggerates the likely consequences of an action, usually to frighten readers (seen as a scare tactic). An argument that portrays today's tiny misstep as tomorrow's slide into disaster.12
7311240218Faulty CausalityCause and effect problem; the fallacious assumption that because one event or action follows another, the first necessarily caused the other. Supposed connection between cause and effect turns out to be completely wrong. Ex. For instance, doctors now believe that when an elderly person falls and is found to have a broken hip, it was usually the break that caused the fall (not the other way around).13

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