Logical Fallacies

Front 1

Accent

Back 1

Emphasis that changes the meaning of the sentence.

I wonder if you really want to do this. (Accent implies 'you want to do this')

What do you think people need about Charmix? (Accent says 'you need Charmix')

Front 2

Accident

Back 2

A general rule used to explain a specific case not covered by it.

Rich people like to receive good service. You therefore must like good service.

You can't go there, Mr. President. Nobody is allowed in.

It is wrong to hurt people. You should not have hit that person who was attacking you.

Front 3

Affirming the Consequent

Back 3

If A then B. B is true, so A is true.

I am in London, England. I am in England, therefore I am in London.

If you are cheating on me, you will be out of the house a lot. You are out of the house a lot, so you must be cheating on me.

Front 4

Amphiboly

Back 4

A sentence has two different meanings.

Young men and women. (are the women young?)

Who is the doctor. (it's Doctor Who!)

Front 5

Appeal to Authority

Back 5

Referencing an 'expert'.

Mike said that this train will be late.

Well, you know what they say...

In a survey, 80% of doctors agreed that this drug can be very effective.

I've been doing this for twenty years, you know.

Front 6

Appeal to Common Belief

Back 6

If others believe it to be true, it must be true.

Oh come on, everyone is saying that this is the right thing to do.

Your family all like the car...

In a survey, 8 out of 10 doctors agreed that this drug is dangerous.

Front 7

Appeal to Common Practice

Back 7

If others do it, it must be ok to do it too.

They were doing it, so I thought it would be ok to do it as well.

Oh come on, it's common practice!

Well then, are you going to join in, or what?

Front 8

Appeal to Fear

Back 8

Gaining compliance through threat.

I know where you live, and I have friends who like a good fire...

Those who do not rejoice will burn in hell.

If Mike heard you saying that, he would not be very happy.

Front 9

Appeal to Flattery

Back 9

Make them feel good.

Hey, you're looking great today. You know I read your paper and it was amazing. Now doesn't it make sense for us to go out tonight?

You're the kind of person who understands this. Could you endorse me?

That's a really good idea. So let's go and show it to Bill. We can also ask him about next year at the same time.

Front 10

Appeal to Emotion

Back 10

If it feels good, it must be true.

Our new cutlery set will make you feel so good when you see it laid out on your dining table. 'Style and Grace' is the right thing for you.

The Maki people of the South are known to be invading our towns! They are corrupting our children and taking our jobs!! Vote for me and I will eradicate this menace!

Front 11

Appeal to Novelty

Back 11

Newer is better.

This new YPod is much better than the old XPod.

This year's model has twenty new features.

Front 12

Appeal to Pity

Back 12

Going for the sympathy vote.

I have hurt my leg. Can you drive, please?

Just look at these pictures of the children. Can you donate something to help them?

I haven't completed my work as my dog just died.

Front 13

Appeal to Ridicule

Back 13

Mocking the other person's claim.

Supporting that cause would take several surgical trusses!

Those other cars look ridiculous. This is the only man's car here.

Those clothes would make you look like a overdressed donkey.

Front 14

Appeal to Tradition

Back 14

It has always been done this way, so this way is right.

My father and his father before him polished wood this way. Don't tell me how to polish wood.

We've been doing this for thirty years, and we've never had problems with it.

The tradition in this town is to buy from local traders.

Front 15

Argument from Ignorance

Back 15

Accepting circumstantial evidence.

You live on Sunny Street. You have a gun. Nobody else on Sunny Street has a gun. There was a murder on Sunny Street last night. You were involved.

You live on Sunny Street. You have a gun. The person was knifed. You were not involved.

Front 16

Assertion

Back 16

What I say is true.

You are stupid.

This shirt is the best that money can buy.

Vote for Jimmy. He will save this country!

Front 17

Attack the Person

Back 17

Distracting them from their argument.

You are not qualified to make such a statement.

You would say that, wouldn't you.

And who do you think is going to believe you.

Of course you will defend your own department.

You mean you have not considered Wikkin's work? That is a serious omission.

Front 18

Begging the Question

Back 18

Circular reasoning to prove assumed premise.

Front 19

Complex Question

Back 19

two questions, one answer allowed.

Front 20

Composition

Back 20

Generalizing from a few to the whole set.

Front 21

Conspiracy Theory

Back 21

Reframe refutation as further proof.

Front 22

Denying the Antecedent

Back 22

If A then B. A is false, so B is false.

Front 23

Division

Back 23

Assuming the parts have the characteristics of the whole.

Front 24

Equivocation

Back 24

A single word with more than one meaning.

Front 25

Excluded Middle

Back 25

Only extreme views are valid.

Front 26

False Analogy

Back 26

X has property Y. Z is like X. So Z has property Y.

Front 27

False Cause

Back 27

A causes B (but no proof).

Front 28

False Compromise

Back 28

Extreme views are wrong. The middle way is right.

Front 29

False Effect

Back 29

A is assumed to cause B. B is proven wrong, so A is wrong.

Front 30

False Dilemma

Back 30

Choice is A or B. Rejecting A is selecting B.

Front 31

Four Terms

Back 31

All A is B. All C is D. So all A is D.

Front 32

Gambler's Fallacy

Back 32

Chance can be predicted.

Front 33

Hasty Generalization

Back 33

Generalizing from too-small a sample.

Front 34

Illicit Major

Back 34

All X is Y. No P (which is a subset of Y) is X. Therefore no P is Y.

Front 35

Illicit Minor

Back 35

All X are Y. All X are P. Therefore all P are Y.

Front 36

In a Certain Respect and Simply

Back 36

Extending assumed boundaries too far.

Front 37

Insignificance

Back 37

Making a minor cause seem major.

Front 38

Many Questions

Back 38

overloading them with lots of questions.

Front 39

Missing the Point

Back 39

Drawing the wrong conclusion.

Front 40

Personal Inconsistency

Back 40

Past words or deeds do not match claim.

Front 41

Poisoning the Well

Back 41

Discrediting the person before they speak.

Front 42

Post Hoc

Back 42

X follows Y. Therefore X is caused by Y.

Front 43

Red Herring

Back 43

Distracting with an irrelevancy.

Front 44

Reification

Back 44

Treating a concept as concrete reality.

Front 45

Repetition

Back 45

Repeating something makes it more true.

Front 46

Slippery Slope

Back 46

Loosely connected statements with ridiculous conclusion.

Front 47

Social Conformance

Back 47

Agree with me or be socially isolated.

Front 48

Strawman

Back 48

Attack a weak argument used by the other person.

Front 49

Style over Substance

Back 49

An attractive presentation makes it more right.

Front 50

Undistributed Middle

Back 50

All A is B. All C is B. Therefore all C is A.

Front 51

Unrepresentative Sample

Back 51

What is true about any sample is also true about the population.

Front 52

Wishful Thinking

Back 52

A is true because I want it to be true.