Fallacies

Front 1

appeal to tradition

Back 1

conclusion is maintained on the basis that it correlates with some past or present tradition "It would be wrong to treat them as equals. It is opposite the way things have always been done."

Front 2

appeal to force

Back 2

where force, or the threat of force, is given as a justification "You had better buckle your seatbelt because if you don’t you are going to be grounded."

Front 3

inheritance fallacy

Back 3

the conclusion is suggested on the basis of origin "America will never settle down; look at all the rabble-rousers who founded it."

Front 4

appeal to emotion

Back 4

arousal of emotion in order to gain acceptance of the conclusion "We should stop hunting baby seals. Just think of those cute little babies and the feeling you would have if your child was cudgeled to death."

Front 5

bandwagon fallacy

Back 5

the conclusion is founded on its popularity "You should come with us on the ski trip, everyone else is going."

Front 6

appeal to the consequences

Back 6

conclusion is arrived at by appeal to the (non)favorable consequences "You cannot accept this legislation, the result would be economic disaster."

Front 7

misleading vividness

Back 7

describing an event in detail to give the point more salience "Don't leave kickboxing for golf. Remember Charles? He was playing golf when he got hit by a golf-cart. It broke his leg, and he fell over, giving himself a concussion."

Front 8

guilt by association

Back 8

attempt to discredit an idea by association with a disfavored group "Hitler was a vegetarian. Therefore vegetarianism is wrong."

Front 9

fait accompli

Back 9

conclusion is maintained on the basis that it is an accomplished and irreversible fact “I could quit smoking tomorrow but, after 40 years, I have already done my lungs enough damage that, even if I did quit, it won’t effect when my life ends.”

Front 10

contrary to fact hypothesis

Back 10

makes a claim about what might have happened under different conditions “If I hadn’t goofed around my first year in college, I would have been accepted at medical school.”

Front 11

appeal to personal circumstance

Back 11

the conclusion is supported by appeal to self-interest “Nancy, I would have thought that you would be actively supporting affirmative action. Because you’re a woman, you should see the merit of using every means available to hire more women.”

Front 12

distinction without a difference

Back 12

advances a distinction without a clear difference in substance “I’m not saying anything against women’s place in society; I just happen to believe that the male should be the head of the household.”

Front 13

surprise alternative

Back 13

attempt to introduce alternatives where there are none "Either he stole the money or he did not. But what if the money never really existed?"

Front 14

equivocation

Back 14

employs the same word in two or more senses "All heavy things have a great mass. This is heavy fog. Therefore this fog has great mass."

Front 15

amphibology

Back 15

ambiguity of grammatical structure “He only said that.” (confusion about what “only” refers to: he only, only said, or, only…that)

Front 16

dicto simpliciter

Back 16

makes a generalization that disregards exception "Cutting people is a crime. Surgeons cut people. Therefore, surgeons are criminals."

Front 17

converse dicto simpliciter

Back 17

argues from a special case to a general rule "If we allow people with glaucoma to use medicinal marijuana then everyone should be allow to use it."

Front 18

masked-man fallacy

Back 18

confusion over referents leads to an invalid conclusion "I know who my father is. I do not know who the thief is. Therefore, my father is not the thief."

Front 19

package-deal fallacy

Back 19

things often grouped together must always be grouped that way "Jon likes surprises, so he'll enjoy finding a snake in his sleeping bag."

Front 20

loaded words

Back 20

when a word with connotative meaning is substituted for a milder denotative word "I won't have those weeds (plants) in my backyard."

Front 21

two wrongs make a right

Back 21

justification of a conclusion by appeal to the wrong action of another "I have every right to take reprisal. It was he who first insulted me."

Front 22

weak analogy

Back 22

because X and Y share property P, therefore X is like Y "How is a raven like a writing desk? Because Poe wrote on both."

Front 23

camoflauging the supposition

Back 23

structures the proposition so that controversial material cannot be challenged "Is it true that you’ve stopped terrorizing puppies?"

Front 24

moving the goalposts

Back 24

when a different standard of proof is required "My opponents point to the stability of the country, but the right measure of success is how democratic the nation has become."

Front 25

privileging the middle

Back 25

claims a middle position between two extremes is best "Opinions on abortion range from banning it altogether to allowing it on demand. Therefore the correct view is restricted abortions."

Front 26

loki's wager

Back 26

because a concept cannot be defined it cannot be discussed "If I lose the bet you can take my head, but not part of my neck. But, since you cannot define where my neck ends and my head begins, you can never collect your reward."

Front 27

scope

Back 27

whether the proposition is given broad or narrow meaning "All that glitters is not gold" versus "Not all that glitters is gold."

Front 28

the perfect and the good

Back 28

because a solution isn't perfect it should not be adopted "Seat belts are a bad idea. People are still going to die in car wrecks."

Front 29

sunk cost fallacy

Back 29

prior investments require a future commitment "Since we have lost several thousand soldiers fighting this war, we cannot quit until we have achieved victory."

Front 30

overwhelming exception

Back 30

a generalization that comes with so many qualifications that little remains "Our foreign policy has always helped other countries, except when it is against our national interest."

Front 31

false dilemma

Back 31

where two alternative statements are held to be the only possible options "A little superstition is a good thing because the alternative is fatalism, which is a terrible thing."

Front 32

suggestive implicature

Back 32

the conclusion is implied by a suggested explanation “The money did not reach the miners. But the coal-mining bosses have luxurious mansions built for them.”

Front 33

fallacy of the continuum

Back 33

maintains that small changes are always unimportant “One more straw won’t break the camel’s back.”

Front 34

false alternatives

Back 34

assumes too few alternatives and, at the same time, one of the suggested alternatives must be true “If you are not for me, you must be against me.”

Front 35

wishful thinking

Back 35

maintains that what one wants to happen is the same as what will happen “Everyone wants to be happy and find that perfect someone. I’m sure that if you look hard enough, you’ll find them.”

Front 36

cliché casuistry

Back 36

use of an aphorism or platitude in place of relevant evidence “The task you are giving me will take some time to complete. You know Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Front 37

fallacy of composition

Back 37

arguing from some property of constituent parts to the conclusion that the composite has that property "All band members are highly skilled. Therefore the band is highly skilled."

Front 38

fallacy of division

Back 38

arguing from some property of the whole to the conclusion that the constituents have that property "A Boeing 747 can fly unaided across the ocean. A Boeing has jet engines. Therefore, one of its jet engines can fly unaided across the ocean."

Front 39

slippery slope

Back 39

that one type of action will lead inevitably to another "But if we do not punish this disobedience then we will encourage the commission of many others."

Front 40

circular argument

Back 40

conclusion to be proved is assumed, implicitly or explicitly, in one of the premises "Suppose Paul is not lying when he speaks. Paul is speaking. Therefore, Paul is telling the truth."

Front 41

non sequitur

Back 41

where there is no connection between the argument and the conclusion "My hair looks nice. Therefore all people will love me."

Front 42

reification fallacy

Back 42

when an abstraction is treated as if it represented a real thing "Justice is blind. And the blind cannot read printed laws. Therefore to print laws cannot serve justice."

Front 43

begging the question

Back 43

frames the issue in a way that resolves the matter by fiat “I know of no case where True love has ended in divorce.”

Front 44

apriorism

Back 44

refusal to consider contrary evidence “God does not exist. The miraculous examples you cite are just urban legends."

Front 45

existential fallacy

Back 45

the conclusion implies that a class has at least one member, but whose premises do not so imply "All unicorns are animals. Therefore some animals are unicorns."

Front 46

illicit conversions

Back 46

an invalid inference affecting the existential quantifier "Some dogs are not pets. Therefore some pets are not dogs."

Front 47

quantifier shift

Back 47

shift between universal and existential quantifiers "Everybody loves someone. Therefore there is somebody whom everyone loves."

Front 48

some are/some are not

Back 48

invalid inference that because some are, there are some that are not "Some politicians are crooks. Therefore some politicians are not crooks."

Front 49

fallacy of necessity

Back 49

necessity is placed on the conclusion based on the necessity of one or more of its premises "Bachelors are necessarily unmarried. John is a bachelor. John is necessarily unmarried."

Front 50

undistributed middle

Back 50

when the middle term in a categorical syllogism is not distributed "All students carry backpacks. My grandfather carries a backpack. Therefore my grandfather is a student."

Front 51

affirming the consequent

Back 51

if X then Y, given Y, therefore X "If it is raining, then the ground is wet. The ground is wet. Therefore it is raining."

Front 52

denying the antecedent

Back 52

if X then Y, given not X, therefore not Y "If it is raining, then the ground is wet. It is not raining. Therefore, the ground is not wet."

Front 53

illicit major

Back 53

categorical syllogism where the major term is distributed in the conclusion, but not in the major premise "All dogs are animals. No cats are dogs. Therefore, no cats are animals."

Front 54

illicit minor

Back 54

categorical syllogism where the minor term is distributed in the conclusion, but not in the minor premise "All whales are mammals. All mammals are animals. Therefore, all animals are whales."

Front 55

conjunction fallacy

Back 55

conjunction of several conditions is considered more probable than any single one "It is more likely that Linda is a feminist bank teller than a bank teller only."

Front 56

base rate fallacy

Back 56

preference for specific information over general statistics "I know the odds that I have cancer are better than even, but my sister has no history of the disease, so I am not concerned."

Front 57

gambler's fallacy

Back 57

independent random events can influence one another "On my coin flip I have only been collecting heads, so, on this next flip, the chances are better than not that it will be tails."

Front 58

texas sharpshooter fallacy

Back 58

the conclusion that a cluster of some data must be the result of some cause “More children in town A have leukemia than in town B. Therefore, there must be something wrong with town A."

Front 59

anecdotal fallacy

Back 59

one or a few examples demonstrate a rule "My friend has been very satisfied with their new car. Therefore the automobile quality must be great."

Front 60

unrepresentative sample

Back 60

where characteristics of a population are not validly inferred from a sample "Everyone at the yacht club is voting for candidate C, I think it is pretty certain they will win the election."

Front 61

regression fallacy

Back 61

preference for causal explanations over statistical fluctuations "If a tall father were to conclude that his tall wife committed adultery because their children were short."

Front 62

murphy's law

Back 62

if it can happen it will happen "Because it is possible for a tornado to assemble a jet airliner, one day it will happen."

Front 63

spotlight fallacy

Back 63

all members of a group are like those that receive public attention "Muslims are always in the news blowing people up. Therefore all Muslims are terrorists."

Front 64

label inference

Back 64

identifying words are sufficient to make conclusions “Henry College must be a good school, since the catalogue says that it is a fine liberal arts school of the highest caliber.”

Front 65

burden of proof

Back 65

lack of negative proof affirms the conclusion "A supernatural force must exist, because there is no proof that it does not."

Front 66

special pleading

Back 66

attempt to create an exemption without justification "I'm not relying on faith in small probabilities. These are slot machines, not roulette wheels. They are different."

Front 67

post hoc fallacy

Back 67

a causal conclusion based solely on the supposed cause preceding the effect "Roosters crow just before sun rise. Therefore roosters crowing cause the sun to rise."

Front 68

cum hoc fallacy

Back 68

a conclusion about causation based on correlation between two events "The bigger a child's shoe size, the better the child's handwriting. Therefore having big feet makes it easier to write."

Front 69

emphatic assertion

Back 69

a conclusion is urged based on its 'obviousness' "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…"

Front 70

necessary sufficient confusion

Back 70

confuses necessary for sufficient conditions “You said that I would have to run the mile in less than six minutes to be on the track team, and I did. So why did I get cut?”

Front 71

causal oversimplication

Back 71

oversimplifies the relevant causal antecedents of an event “Children average five hours per day of TV watching, time that could be spent reading. That explains why SAT scores are dropping.”

Front 72

cause effect confusion

Back 72

confuses cause and effect, or a reciprocal relation between the two “It’s no wonder that Phillip makes such good grades and always does what the teacher asks. He’s the teacher’s pet.”

Front 73

neglect of common sense

Back 73

ignores possible common causes relating two events “It is a strange coincidence that the same people who like skydiving also enjoy bungee jumping.”

Front 74

red herring

Back 74

presents an argument that doesn't address the issue "I should not pay a fine for reckless driving. There are actual dangerous criminals on the street, and the police should be chasing them instead of harassing decent citizens like me."

Front 75

straw man

Back 75

superficial representation of an argument that can be more easily refuted Pro: "We should liberalize the laws on marijuana." Con: "No. Any society with unrestricted access to drugs loses its work ethic and goes only for immediate gratification."

Front 76

poisong the well

Back 76

where adverse information about someone is presented preemptively to the audience with the intent to discredit "Before you listen to my opponent, may I remind you that he has been in jail."

Front 77

ad hominem

Back 77

attacks the person instead of attacking the argument "He's physically addicted to nicotine. Of course he defends smoking!"

Front 78

tu quoque

Back 78

defense of a position by turning the accusation back against the other party Qstn: "As a part of your fight for liberation, how can you justify killing innocent civilians?" Ansr: "Wasn't it your country that first used atomic weapons against cities?"

Front 79

trivial objections

Back 79

focuses attention on points of no significance to the issue “I’ve examined the case for Christianity, but I cannot accept it. That stuff about a man walking on water or turning water into wine, that’s impossible.”

Front 80

humorous diversions

Back 80

use of humor and ridicule to avoid addressing the issue; President Reagan’s response to a question during the election about his old age affecting his competence: “Not at all. I am not going to exploit my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”