Terms : Hide Images
| 5953665622 | Ad Hominem | Any kind of fallacious argument that criticizes an idea by pointing out something about the person who holds it, rather than addressing the actual merit of the idea. (ex. blaming one's political opinion on race or class rather than on the merits of their ideas) (Means "to the man" in Latin) | 0 | |
| 5953665623 | Argument from Authority | Tempts us to agree with assumptions of the writer because of their fame, authority, or well-known character merits. (Kinda like a testimony from a celebrity) | 1 | |
| 5953665624 | Appeal to Ignorance | Based on the assumption that what has not been proven false must therefore be true (also referred to as absence of evidence) | 2 | |
| 5953665625 | Begging the Question | When one assumes that part or all of what a person claims to be proving are actually proven facts. (ex. I say the references on my application are trustworthy, so it must be true because I said so) | 3 | |
| 5953665626 | Hasty Generalization | A trope/fallacy used to deliberately lead readers to a conclusion through use of insufficient, selective evidence. (ex. _____ sport is dangerous because of _____ specific statistic). Very common to prove untrue conclusions based on selective use of statistical evidence. | 4 | |
| 5953665627 | Non Sequitur | Latin for "it does not follow." A statement that does not logically relate to what comes before it. (ex. "If you really wanted a 5 on that exam, you wouldn't spend so much time reading other books) | 5 | |
| 5953665628 | False Dichotomy | Consists of the consideration of only the two extremes when there are one or more intermediate possibilities. (ex. _____ subject is impossible; you either get it or you don't) | 6 | |
| 5953665629 | Slippery Slope | This type of argument suggests a dire consequence from a relatively minor course of action. (ex. If we allow girls to wear tank tops, soon they'll be going topless to school!) | 7 | |
| 5953665630 | Faulty Causality | The (sometimes unknown) setting up of a cause-and-effect relationship where none exists. Basically claiming causation where there is only correlation (ex. the video games to violent crime rate connection) | 8 | |
| 5953665631 | Straw Man Argument | Consists of oversimplifying an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack (ex. Gat rights activists just want to tear apart family values) | 9 | |
| 5953665632 | Sentimental Appeals | Tactic used to appeal to readers hearts so they forget to use their minds. | 10 | |
| 5953665633 | Red Herring | Attempts to shift attention away from an important issue by introducing an issue that has no logical connection to the discussion at hand. (Political candidates use this a lot, particularly in debates. Ex. "My opponent criticized ______ part of the military, but this is a time in which we must stick together or else jeopardize our military power overall.") | 11 | |
| 5953665634 | Scare Tactics | Frightens readers/listeners into agreeing; usually used when the speaker has no logical argument upon which to fall back. (ex. stem cell research will lead to a superior race and the Nazi dream of an Aryan nation will ensue!) Often combined with slippery slope | 12 | |
| 5953665635 | Bandwagon Appeals | Claims everyone else agrees, so the listener should, as well. | 13 | |
| 5953665636 | Dogmatism | Does not allow for discussion because the speaker presumes that his or her beliefs are beyond question; logic of many parents, I'm right because I'm the parent and therefore I'm always right. | 14 | |
| 5953665637 | Equivocation | Selective truth-telling, the telling of only part of the truth and thereby lying by omission | 15 | |
| 5953665638 | Faulty Analogy | Illogical, misleading comparison between two things, generally more extreme than a non sequitur to my understanding. (ex. Why should we invade that country? Well let me ask you, if you saw a $20 bill on the street, wouldn't you go outside and take it?) | 16 |
