10 Major Fallacies

https://successfulstudent.org/the-art-to-argument-persuasion-logical-fallacies/

Avoid fallacies in your own arguments and watch for them!

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/logic_in_argumentative_writing/fallacies.html

Fallacies are errors in reasoning that undermine the logic of your argument.Fallacies can be illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points. They often lack evidence that supports a claim.

What Are Logical Fallacies?

Index

False Analogy

Ad Hominem

Post Hoc

Straw Man

Appeal to Popular Opinion

Begging the Question

Hasty Generalization

Slippery Slope

Appeal to Authority

False Dichotomy

Index

False Analogy

Ad Hominem

Post Hoc

Straw Man

Appeal to Popular Opinion

Begging the Question

Hasty Generalization

Slippery Slope

Appeal to Authority

False Dichotomy

"GRILLED CHEESE AND PEPPERONI IS THE BEST LUNCH AT mONTY TECH!"nO, IT'S CHICKEN BOWL!""nO, GRILLED CHEESE AND PEPPERONI IS THE BEST.""yOU JUST HATE CHICKEN BOWL!"

When you replace your opponent's position with a different one, and then attack that position (attacking the "straw man").

Straw Man

Index

"Concerts are loud! You like concerts don't you?"

"I hate my bus. It's so loud and out of control."

A false analogy is when you equate two things that are very different based on ONE likeness. In other words, because they are alike in one way, you conclude that they must be alike in other ways.

Index

Problema

False Analogy

"What do you know? You're only a silly, little freshman."

"The hallways are too narrow and crowded in this school!"

When you attack the person and not their argument.Usually, you attack someone's character, identity, or something personal (like their appearance), instead of attacking their actual position. This is common in political debate.

(Translation: to the person)

Index

Ad Hominem

"Everytime the cafeteria serves Chicken Bowl, it rains that afternoon. Therefore, Chicken Bowls cause it to rain."

This occurs when someone assumes causality from an order of events. If it seems like B always happens after A, then A must cause B.Correlation doesn’t necessarily mean causation.

(Translation: after this)

Post Hoc

Index

Begging the question is a form of circular reasoning. It occurs when the premises that are meant to support an argument already assume that the conclusion is true. Technically speaking, to beg the question is not a logical fallacy. This is because it is logically valid, in the strictest sense, but it is utterly unpersuasive. The thing that you are trying to prove is already assumed to be true, so you are not actually adding anything to the argument. It would be like saying a product is the most expensive because it has the highest price.It uses a premise in the argument to support the conclusion. Example: The Apple iPhone is the best smartphone on the planet because no one makes a better smartphone than Apple does.

Begging the Question

Index

"You have a choice: Cheetos or M&Ms?"

(False Two-Parter)

A False Dichotomy is when the arguer presents only two possible options or outcomes, when in reality there are more.

Index

False Dichotomy

A slippery slope argument takes an initial premise and sees it through a chain of consequences until you arrive at an unacceptable, undesirable, or disastrous outcome.

If you don’t do your homework, you’ll fail the class. If you fail the class, you won’t graduate from school. If you don’t graduate, you won’t get a good job. If you don’t get a good job, you’ll be poor and homeless. You don’t want to be poor and homeless, do you?

Slippery Slope

Index

Merely quoting an authoritydoesn’t make an argument correct or incorrect.An argument is correct, or incorrect, depending on sufficient, unbiased evidence.

Appeal to Authority

“The earth is flat.” “How do you know that?” “Because my mother told me.”

Index

"Don't eat the salad here.""Why?""There's bugs in the lettuce. I got it once and there was a big, black fly!"

A hasty generalization is a conclusion that is made too quickly and without sufficient, unbiased evidence.

Hasty Generalization

Index

"Coca-cola is the best soda.""Why?""Everyone says so!"

When someone makes an argument that a position is true because a lot (or the majority) of people have that position.

Appeal to Popular Opinion

Index

How do you prevent making logical fallacies in arguments? 1. Learn the most common fallacies. 2. Assess your own arguments to see if you make use any logical fallacies. 3. Have an internal monitor when you speak or write to spot fallacies, especially when people seem upset when you argue with them.

How do you respond to a logical fallacy?1. Identify the specific fallacy by name.2. Explain what the fallacy means to the individual.3. Explain how it was used in the argument.

Index