Fallacies

Front 1

STRAWMAN

A strawman argument intentionally misconstrues and/or simplifies another person’s argument. The strawman argument is typically “more absurd than the actual argument, making it an easier argument to attack.”

Back 1

Proponents of sex education want to give kids license to have sex with no consequences.

Front 2

False Dilemma“

A false dilemma is an argument that presents a limited set of two possible categories and assumes that everything in the scope of the discussion must be an element of that set. Thus, by rejecting one category, you are forced to accept the other.”

Back 2

America: Love it or leave it.

Front 3

Appeal to the bandwagon

“This argument uses the fact that many people (or even a majority) believe in something as evidence and so it must be true.” This appeal uses peer pressure to get people on board.

Back 3

Bill says that he likes the idea that people should work for their welfare when they can. His friends laugh at him, accuse him of fascist leanings, and threaten to ostracize him from their group. He decides to recant and abandon his position to avoid rejection.

Front 4

Affirming the Consequent

“This error lies in assuming because the consequent is true, the antecedent must also be true.”

Back 4

If taxes are lowered, I will have more money to spend.I have more money to spend.Therefore, taxes must have been lowered.

Front 5

Not Cause for a Cause

Not a cause for a cause “assumes a cause for an event where there is no evidence that one exists.”

There are two types within this fallacy:post hoc ergo propter hoc: “because one event preceded another, it is said to have been the cause”Cum hoc ergo propter hoc: “because an event happened at the same time as another, it is said to have been the cause.”

Back 5

"Napoleon became a great emperor because he was so short."

Hint 5

Often, people will call this “‘confusing correlation with causation.”

Front 6

APPEAL TO IRRELEVANT AUTHORITY

If an appeal to authority is “an appeal to the feeling that others are more knowledgeable,” the appeal to irrelevant authority occurs when someone cites a person who is not an expert in the situation.

Back 6

Brad Pitt was seen wearing Designer Bob's sunglasses, so they must be the best sunglasses to wear.

Front 7

Appeal to Ignorance

An appeal to ignorance “assumes a proposition to be true simply because there is no evidence proving that it is false...a specific form...is the argument from personal incredulity, where a person’s inability to imagine something leads them to believe that it is false.”

Back 7

Why are you always so skeptical of ESP? Can you prove it doesn't exist?

Front 8

ARGUMENT FROM CONSEQUENCES

An argument from consequences “redirects the the discussion away from the original proposition...to the proposition’s result.” It may appeal to either fear or hope. This is not a fallacy when applied to decision or policies, but it is a fallacy when applied to an argument that is proving the “truth” of something.

Back 8

You can't agree that evolution is true, because if it were, then we would be no better than monkeys and apes.

Front 9

Genetic Fallacy

“A genetic fallacy is committed when an argument is either devalued or defended solely because of its origins.”

Back 9

He was born to Catholic parents and raised as a Catholic until his confirmation in 8th grade. Therefore, he is bound to want to defend some Catholic traditions and, therefore, cannot be taken seriously.

Front 10

Hasty Generalization

“This fallacy is committed when one forms a conclusion from a sample that is either too small or too special to be representative.”

Back 10

My father smoked four packs of cigarettes a day since age fourteen and lived until age sixty-nine. Therefore, smoking really can’t be that bad for you.

Front 11

Equivocation

Equivocation fallacy “exploits the ambiguity of language by changing the meaning of a word during the course of an argument and using different meanings to support and ill-founded conclusion.”

Back 11

I have the right to watch "The Real World." Therefore it's right for me to watch the show. So, I think I'll watch this "Real World" marathon tonight instead of studying for my exam.

Front 12

Appeal to Fear“

An Appeal to Fear plays on the fears of an audience by imagining a scary future that would be of their making if some proposition were accepted.”

Back 12

If we don’t bail out the big automakers, the US economy will collapse. Therefore, we need to bail out the automakers.

Front 13

No True Scotsman

"This argument comes up after someone has made a general claim about a group of things, and then been presented with evidence challenging the claim. Rather than revising their position, or contesting the evidence, they dodge the challenge by arbitrarily redefining the criteria for membership in that group.”

Back 13

John: Members of the UbaTuba White Men's Club are upstanding citizens of the community.Marvin: Then why are there so many of these members in jail?John: They were never true UbaTuba White Men's Club members.Marvin: What’s a true UbaTuba White Men's Club member?John: Those who don't go to jail.

Front 14

Guilt by association

“Guilt by association is used to discredit an argument for proposing an idea that is shared by some socially demonized individual or group.”

Back 14

Ferris: "So, who are you going to vote for?"

Libard: "Well, I was thinking about voting for Jane, since she is a woman and there has never been a woman chair here. But, I think that Steve will do an excellent job. He has a lot of clout in the university and he is a decent person." Ferris: "You know, Wayne and Bill are supporting him. They really like the idea of having Steve as the new chair. I never thought I'd see you and those two pigs on the same side." Libard: "Well, maybe it is time that we have a woman as chair."

Front 15

Composition

“One commits the fallacy of composition by inferring that, because the parts of a whole have a particular attribute, the whole must have that attribute also.”

Back 15

Ex: Each brick in that building weighs less than a pound. Therefore, the building weighs less than a pound.

Front 16

Division

“To commit the fallacy of division is to infer that part of a whole must have some attribute because the whole to which it belongs happens to have that attribute.”

Back 16

EX: "The ball is blue, therefore the atoms that make it up are also blue."

Front 17

Appeal to hypocrisy

An appeal to hypocrisy or tu quoque “involves countering someone’s argument by pointing out that it conflicts with his or her own past actions or statements.”

Back 17

Jill: "I think the gun control bill shouldn't be supported because it won't be effective and will waste money."

Bill: "Well, just last month you supported the bill. So I guess you're wrong now."

Front 18

Ad hominem

An ad hominem argument “attacks the person rather than the argument he or she is making, with the intention of diverting the discussion and discrediting their argument.”

Back 18

Socrates' arguments about human excellence are rubbish. What could a man as ugly as he know about human excellence.

Front 19

Circular reasoning/begging the question

This fallacy occurs when we support our conclusion with the premise. In other words, “because of x therefore x.”

Back 19

The rights of the minority are every bit as sacred as the rights of the majority, for the majority's rights have no greater value than those of the minority.

Front 20

Slippery Slope

“A slippery slope argument attempts to discredit a proposition by arguing that its acceptance will undoubtedly lead to a sequence of events, one or more of which are undesirable.”

Back 20

“We have to stop the tuition increase! The next thing you know, they'll be charging $40,000 a semester!"