With definitions and examples.
See a longer list at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies
Terms : Hide Images
| 8550560349 | Ad Hominem | "attacking the person" - an argument or reaction directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining or the argument itself; a type of Fallacy of Relevance when the attack on the person is irrelevant to the argument the person is making. We cannot possibly build the park that Mr. Smith is supporting! He was once arrested during a domestic dispute! My opponent suggests that lowering taxes will be a good idea -- this is coming from someone who eats a pint of ice cream every night! | 0 | |
| 8550560350 | Genetic Fallacy | when a claim is accepted as true or false based on the origin of the claim; instead of looking at the actual merits of the claim, it is judged based on its origin. My doctor is overweight, so I don't believe anything he tells me about improving my health. | 1 | |
| 8550560353 | Snob Appeal (form of Ad Populum) | a form of Argumentum Ad Populum; argues that "only the best people are doing it" (so you should too) Only intelligent people vote for Donald Trump. | 2 | |
| 8550560354 | Appeal to False Authority | using an authority as evidence in your argument when the authority is not really an authority on the facts relevant to the argument. As the audience, allowing an irrelevant authority to add credibility to the claim being made. My 5th grade teacher said girls like boys who can dance. So, if you want to get girls, learn how to dance. Oprah said it so it must be true. | 3 | |
| 8550560355 | Circular Argument (aka Begging the Question) | a conclusion is assumed in one of the premises; aka circular reasoning; "what is true is true" Claim X assumes X is true, therefore claim X is true. Paranormal activity is real because I have experienced what can only be described as paranormal activity. Only a mentally ill person would commit murder so all murderers are mentally ill. | 4 | |
| 8550560356 | Red Herring | an irrelevant topic introduced in an argument to divert the attention of listeners or readers from the original issue Crime in the city has increased. The weather has changed, too. Things change over time. How does change happen? A teacher catches a student cheating. The student argues, "But think of my parents and how upset they will be! Don't you care about parents?" | 5 | |
| 8550560357 | False Analogy | when someone applies facts from one situation to another situation to prove or disprove an argument, but the analogy is too dissimilar to be effective; the situations are substantially different and the same conclusions cannot logically be drawn. People who cannot go without their coffee every morning are no better than alcoholics. | 6 | |
| 8550560358 | Hasty Generalization | Jumping to conclusions based on a small sample size, rather than looking at statistics that are much more in line with the typical or average situation Kevin's grandparents do not know how to use a computer. Kevin thinks that all older people must be computer illiterate. A car with New York plates cut me off in traffic. All drivers from New York are terrible. | 7 | |
| 8550560359 | Strawman | Any lame attempt to "prove" an argument by overstating, exaggerating, or over-simplifying the arguments of the opposing side; substituting a person's actual position or argument with a distorted, exaggerated, or misrepresented version of the position of the argument After Will said that we should put more money into health and education, Warren responded by saying that he was surprised that Will hates our country so much that he wants to leave it defenseless by cutting military spending. The response to an argument for regulating genetically engineered crops is, "If we take away farmers' ability to grow genetically engineered crops, people will go hungry, or even starve." | 8 | |
| 8550560360 | False Dilemma (Either/Or) | when a writer builds an argument upon the assumption that there are only two choices or possible outcomes when actually there are several; aka black-and-white fallacy You are either with God, or against him. | 9 | |
| 8550560361 | Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (aka False Cause) | establishes a cause/effect relationship that does not exist; aka questionable premise or post hoc Our soccer team was losing until I bought new cleats. My new cleats caused our winning streak. I sneezed and the power went off. My sneeze interfered with the power. | 10 | |
| 8550560362 | Equivocation | When a writer uses the same term in two different senses in an argument; thus making an argument misleading; aka 'doublespeak'; works for humor The sign said "fine for parking here", and since it was fine, I parked there. | 11 | |
| 8550560363 | Slippery Slope | once the first step is undertaken, a second or third step will inevitably follow, much like the way one step on a slippery incline will cause a person to fall and slide all the way to the bottom. Colin Closets asserts that if we allow same-sex couples to marry, then the next thing we know we'll be allowing people to marry their parents, their cars, even their monkeys. First it's auto-driving cars, next it's robots harvesting our organs. | 12 | |
| 8550560365 | Moral Equivalence | draws comparison between different, often unrelated things, to make a point that one is just as bad as the other or just as good as the other; compares minor misdeeds with major atrocities. That parking attendant who gave me a ticket is as bad as Hitler. | 13 | |
| 8550560366 | Ad Hoc | "making stuff up" fallacy (out of desperation to be right) making up excuses as to why a belief could still be true, and is still true, despite the fact that there is no evidence to support the argument Frieda: I just know that Raymond is just waiting to ask me out. Edna: He has been seeing Rose for 3 months now. Frieda: He is just seeing her to make me jealous. Edna: They're engaged. Frieda: Well, that's just his way of making sure I know about it. Poor Frieda cannot accept the truth that Raymond is not interested in her. | 14 | |
| 8550560367 | Appeal to Emotion | use of emotion in place of valid reasoning in order to attempt to win the argument. Includes appeals to fear, flatter, ridicule, pity, and wishful-thinking. A politician who argues that the other party is going to cut spending and that will have a negative impact on all of the grandmothers living on social security. | 15 | |
| 8550560368 | Nirvana fallacy (perfect solution fallacy) | when solutions to problems are rejected because they are not perfect; ignoring the fact that improvements are often good enough reason. What is the point of making the drinking age 21? Underage kids are still going to get their hands on alcohol. The MMR vaccine has a 1 in 1 million chance of a serious adverse event. Thus, it should be considered so unsafe that it should be removed from the market until a vaccine that never has an adverse effect is available. | 16 | |
| 8550585494 | Bandwagon (form of Ad Populum) | an argument that states something should be true because of it's popularity; "If many believe so, it is so"; (aka, bandwagon) The best phone is the iPhone - look how many people own them! But Officer, everyone was speeding! If I went any slower, I wouldn't be going with the pace of traffic. | 17 | |
| 8667520959 | Non sequitur | From Latin, "it does not follow." Stating a conclusion that doesn't follow logically from the evidence given. People love to walk on the beach. Sand floors should be put in houses. What's the weather outside? Well, it's Tuesday. Buddy's Burgers was voted #1 burger place in town. Phil, the owner, should run for President. | 18 |
