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28 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Ambiguity
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when a term can be understood in two or more distinct ways
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Equivocation
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ambiguity of a specific word taken as the same meaning to support an argument
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Amphiboly
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ambiguity when sentence structure can be interpreted in different ways
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Vagueness
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when a term is unclear because of borderline cases, lack of criteria, and/or lack of specificity
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Circular Reasoning/Begging the Question
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a point is assumed as the basis of an argument without any support but its own for its truth (Ex. The Bible is true because it says it’s true.)
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Black-and-White Thinking/False Dichotomy/False Dilemma
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only two choices are made available when a wider range of alternatives exists (ex. You’re either with us or you’re with the terrorists.)
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Appeal to Force (Ad baculum)
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threats/intimidation/appeals to fear used as evidence rather than reason (Ex. You should give me a raise because if you don’t I will kill you)
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Appeal to Pity (Ad misericordium)
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sympathy/pity used as evidence rather than reason (Ex. You should give me an A because my grandmother died)
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Incomplete Evidence
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making judgments on statistical information without considering all relevant information (Ex. Many Americans don’t speak Chinese, so it’s safe to assume that the American ambassador to China can’t speak Chinese.)
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Weak Authority
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when an argument from authority appeals to a figure whose knowledge or power is questionable or when there is disagreement among experts in a field
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Ad hominem
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when an argument attacks the speaker rather than evidence (Ex. He proposed a policy to help the economy, but he doesn’t even have a job. So he can’t be trusted.)
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Ad populem/Bandwagon
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offers majority opinion as evidence (Ex. Everyone’s downloading this app, so you should, too!)
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False Analogy
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False Analogy
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Slippery Slope
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suggests that no distinctions can be made in a continuum, or that accepting one thing on the spectrum will cause all other things on the spectrum to occur (Ex. Direct TV commercials)
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Biased Statistics
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when a sample used in an argument is not representative of the whole population
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Hasty Generalization
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(umbrella term) too small a sample size (Ex. You see a brown dog and conclude than all dogs are brown)
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Misleading Vividness
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when one shocking instance is used to try to overwhelm all data to the contrary (Ex. I’ve made A’s on homework assignments all semester but I made an F on the last one. I’m going to fail the class.)
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Post hoc (Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc)
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“after this, therefore because of this”; arguing that one event was caused by another just because it happened after that event
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Ignoring a Common Cause
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inferring that one thing causes another because they are found in conjunction with one another, when the two things are actually caused by a third thing
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Confusing Cause and Effect
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self-explanatory (Ex. My illness was caused by my fever.)
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Genetic Fallacy
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when the origin/source of a belief is used as evidence for/against it (Ex. Eugenics was pioneered in Germany during the war. Therefore, Eugenics is a bad thing.)
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Confusing Consequences of a Belief with Evidence for It
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self-explanatory (Ex. If I believe in God, then I go to heaven. But if I don’t believe in God, then I’m going to hell. Therefore, I should believe in God.)
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False Cause
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(umbrella term) when a correlation/coincidence is confused for a cause (Ex. Napoleon became a great emperor because he was so short.)
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Composition
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attributes qualities of the parts to the whole (Ex. Atoms are colorless. Cats are made up of atoms. Therefore, cats are colorless.)
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Division
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attributes qualities of the whole to the parts (Ex. This cat is black. Therefore, the atoms that make up this cat are all black.)
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Denying the Antecedent
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If A, then B. Not A. Therefore, not B.
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Affirming the Consequent
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If A, then B. B. Therefore, A
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Undistributed Middle
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a term used in both premises is not distributed in one occurrence (in categorical syllogisms
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