9807541786 | Ad hominem | Attacking the individual presenting the argument rather than the argument itself | 0 | |
9807541787 | Begging the question | The writer or speaker assumes the statement under examination to be true. | 1 | |
9807541788 | False Dichotomy/ False dilemma/ Either-or thinking | Reducing an issue to only have to two possible solutions | 2 | |
9807541789 | Faulty assumption | An incorrect connection between the evidence and the conclusion. | 3 | |
9807541790 | Non sequitur | An inference or conclusion that does not follow from established premises or evidence. | 4 | |
9807541791 | Post hoc, ergo propter hoc | Confusing chance or coincidence with causation. Because one event follows the other doesn't mean the first caused the second. | 5 | |
9807541792 | Red herring | A distraction inserted to an argument. | 6 | |
9807541793 | Slippery slope | A faulty assumption that one thing will follow the other, where the two events are usually out of proportion. | 7 | |
9807541794 | Sunk Cost Fallacy | The idea that a course of action or outcome is inevitable given previous investments. | 8 | |
9807541795 | Anecdotal | Using vague reference to personal experience to make it validate their own arguments. | 9 | |
9807541796 | Bandwagon | An appeal to popularity where once many people start doing something, other people want to join in. | 10 | |
9807541797 | Black or White Fallacy | When we illegitimately limit the number of alternatives available. | 11 | |
9807541798 | Cherry Picking | Using "cherry-picked" evidence or finding a data pattern that explicitly suits your argument, while withholding the data that would counter your argument. | 12 | |
9807541799 | Circular Argument | Restating an argument instead of proving it. | 13 | |
9807541800 | Dogmatism | When only one opinion is considered, and is presented as the only conclusion. | 14 | |
9807541801 | Equivocation Fallacy | The use of a term or phrase considered key to the argument in an ambiguous manner, so it can have different meanings in different portions of the argument to suit a specific viewpoint. | 15 | |
9807541802 | Faulty Analogy | When an extended comparison between two concepts or objects is inaccurate because although they may be alike in one respect, they are not necessarily alike in another respect. | 16 | |
9807541803 | Glittering Generality | An emotionally appealing phrase that is vague enough to appeal to universal values without making any actual points. | 17 | |
9807541804 | Hasty Generalization | A conclusion that is based upon insufficient or biased evidence. It is rushed to without all the relevant facts being known. | 18 | |
9807541805 | Loaded question | A question was asked that had a presumption built into it so that it cannot be answered without appearing guilty. | 19 | |
9807541806 | McNamara Fallacy | Ignoring all factors other than quantitative observations when making a decision. | 20 | |
9807541807 | Oversimplification | Making a complicated issue seem very simple by using simple terms or suppressing information. | 21 | |
9807541808 | Stacking the Deck | The "stacking of the deck" by ignoring facts that would undermine the point being made. Different from a hasty generalization in that it implies deliberate ignorance rather than accidental logical error. | 22 | |
9807541809 | Inscrutability Fallacy | When an individual attempts to prove a point by overwhelming the audience with marginally-relevant facts, statistics, words, or other pieces of information that have no causal links between them. The audience is expected to be impressed without truly understanding the central argument | 23 |
AP Language Logical Fallacies Flashcards
Primary tabs
Need Help?
We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.
For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.
If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.
Need Notes?
While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!