Illogical Fallacies

Ad Hominem

• • Description: Attacking the person making the argument rather than the argument itself.

  • Example: “You can’t trust her opinion on climate change; she’s not even a scientist.”

Straw Man

• • Description: Misrepresenting or oversimplifying someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.

  • Example: “He wants to reduce military spending, so he must not care about our national security.”

False Dilemma (Black-and-White Thinking)

• • Description: Presenting only two options when more options exist.

  • Example: “You’re either with us or against us.”

Appeal to Authority

• • Description: Relying on the opinion of an authority figure, even if they’re not an expert in the relevant field.

  • Example: “This diet must work because a celebrity endorses it.”

Slippery Slope

• • Description: Arguing that a small first step will lead to a chain of events resulting in something significant and undesirable.

  • Example: “If we allow this law, next thing you know, we’ll lose all our freedoms.”

Hasty Generalization

• • Description: Making a broad conclusion based on insufficient evidence.

  • Example: “I met two rude tourists from that country, so everyone from there must be rude.”

Circular Reasoning (Begging the Question)

• • Description: When the argument’s conclusion is used as a premise.

  • Example: “I’m trustworthy because I always tell the truth.”

Appeal to Emotion

• • Description: Using emotions rather than logic to persuade.

  • Example: “Think of the children! We have to pass this law.”

Red Herring

• • Description: Introducing an irrelevant topic to divert attention from the original issue.

  • Example: “Why worry about pollution when there are so many people who are unemployed?”

Bandwagon (Appeal to Popularity)

• • Description: Arguing that something is true or right because many people believe it or do it.

  • Example: “Everyone uses this app, so it must be the best choice.”

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (False Cause)

• • Description: Assuming that because one event followed another, it was caused by it.

  • Example: “I started drinking more water, and now I feel better, so the water must be why.”

Appeal to Ignorance

• • Description: Arguing that something is true because it hasn’t been proven false.

  • Example: “No one has proven aliens don’t exist, so they must be real.”

False Equivalence

• • Description: Making two things appear similar when they are not.

  • Example: “Taking care of a pet is just like raising a child.”

Anecdotal Evidence

• • Description: Using personal experience or an isolated example instead of sound reasoning or more comprehensive evidence.

  • Example: “My grandfather smoked all his life and lived to 90, so smoking isn’t harmful.”

Tu Quoque (Appeal to Hypocrisy)

• • Description: Discrediting someone’s argument because their behavior doesn’t align with it.

  • Example: “How can you advise me on being eco-friendly when you drive a car?”

No True Scotsman

• • Description: Changing the definition of a group to exclude counterexamples.

  • Example: “No true environmentalist would ever drive a car.”

Appeal to Tradition

• • Description: Arguing something is better or correct because it’s traditional or “always been done this way.”

  • Example: “We’ve always used this system, so it must be the best option.”

Composition/Division Fallacy

• • Description: Assuming what’s true of a part is true of the whole (composition) or vice versa (division).

  • Example (Composition): “All the players on the team are talented, so the team must be great.”

  • Example (Division): “The team is the best in the league, so each player must be amazing.”

Loaded Question

• • Description: Asking a question that assumes something unproven or controversial.

  • Example: “When did you decide to stop wasting company time?”

The Fallacy Fallacy

• • Description: Assuming that because an argument contains a fallacy, its conclusion is automatically false.

  • Example: “His argument has a hasty generalization, so he must be completely wrong.”