Logical Fallacies

Front 1

Arguments of this form assume that since something has not been proven false, it is therefore true. Conversely, such an argument may assume that since something has not been proven true, it is therefore false.

Back 1

Ignorance

Front 2

Fred said that he is smarter than Jill, but he didn't prove it, so it must be false.

Back 2

Ignorance

Front 3

If we pass laws against fully-automatic weapons, then it won't be long before we pass laws on all weapons, and then we will begin to restrict other rights, and finally we will end up living in a communist state. Thus, we should not ban fully-automatic weapons.

Back 3

Slippery Slope

Front 4

If I make an exception for you then I have to make an exception for everyone.

Back 4

Slippery Slope

Front 5

Two otherwise unrelated points are conjoined and treated as a single proposition. The reader is expected to accept or reject both together, when in reality one is acceptable while the other is not.

Back 5

Complex Question

Front 6

Have you stopped using illegal sales practises?

Back 6

Complex Question

Front 7

The reader is told that unpleasant consequences will follow if they do not agree with the author.

Back 7

Appeal to Force

Front 8

You had better agree that the new company policy is the best bet if you expect to keep your job.

Back 8

Appeal to Force

Front 9

NAFTA is wrong, and if you don't vote against NAFTA then we will vote you out of office

Back 9

Appeal to Force

Front 10

The reader is told to agree to the proposition because of the pitiful state of the author.

Back 10

Appeal to Pity

Front 11

How can you say that's out? It was so close, and besides, I'm down ten games to two.

Back 11

Appeal to Pity

Front 12

We hope you'll accept our recommendations. We spent the last three months working extra time on it.

Back 12

Appeal to Pity

Front 13

A proposition is held to be true because it is widely held to be true or is held to be true by some (usually upper crust) sector of the population.

Back 13

Appeal to the mob

Front 14

If you were beautiful, you could live like this, so buy Buty-EZ and become beautiful.

Back 14

Appeal to the mob

Front 15

Polls suggest that the Liberals will form a majority government, so you may as well vote for them.

Back 15

Appeal to the mob

Front 16

The person presenting an argument is attacked instead of the argument itself.

Back 16

Attacking the Person

Front 17

You may argue that God doesn't exist, but you are just following a fad.

Back 17

Attacking the Person

Front 18

We should disregard Share B.C.'s argument because they are being funded by the logging industry.

Back 18

Attacking the Person

Front 19

My friend heard on the news the other day that Canada will declare war on Serbia

Back 19

Appeal to Authority

Front 20

The size of the sample is too small to support the conclusion

Back 20

Hasty Generalization

Front 21

Fred, the Australian, stole my wallet. Thus, all Australians are thieves

Back 21

Hasty Generalization

Front 22

I asked six of my friends what they thought of the new spending restraints and they agreed it is a good idea. The new restraints are therefore generally popular.

Back 22

Hasty Generalization

Front 23

two objects (or events), A and B are shown to be similar. Then it is argued that since A has property P, so also B must have property P. An *** fails when the two objects, A and B, are different in a way which affects whether they both have property P.

Back 23

False Analogy

Front 24

Employees are like nails. Just as nails must be hit in the head in order to make them work, so must employees.

Back 24

False Analogy

Front 25

Government is like business, so just as business must be sensitive primarily to the bottom line, so also must government.

Back 25

False Analogy

Front 26

A general rule is applied when circumstances suggest that an exception to the rule should apply.

Back 26

Accident

Front 27

The law says that you should not travel faster than 50 kph, thus even though your father could not breathe, you should not have travelled faster than 50 kph.

Back 27

Accident

Front 28

It is good to return things you have borrowed. Therefore, you should return this automatic rifle from the madman you borrowed it from.

Back 28

Accident

Front 29

An exception to a generalization is applied to cases where the generalization should apply.

Back 29

Converse Accident

Front 30

Because you allowed Jill, who was hit by a truck, to hand in her assignment late, you should allow the entire class to hand in their assignments late.

Back 30

Converse Accident

Front 31

Because we allow terminally ill patients to use heroin, we should allow everyone to use heroin.

Back 31

Converse Accident

Front 32

The truth of the conclusion is assumed by the premises. Often, the conclusion is simply restated in the premises in a slightly different form. In more difficult cases, the premise is a consequence of the conclusion.

Back 32

Begging the Question

Front 33

Since I'm not lying, it follows that I'm telling the truth.

Back 33

Begging the Question

Front 34

We know that God exists, since the Bible says God exists. What the Bible says must be true, since God wrote it and God never lies.

Back 34

Begging the Question

Front 35

The author attacks an argument which is different from, and usually weaker than, the opposition's best argument.

Back 35

Straw Man

Front 36

People who opposed the Charlottetown Accord probably just wanted Quebec to separate. But we want Quebec to stay in Canada.

Back 36

Straw Man

Front 37

We should have conscription. People don't want to enter the military because they find it an inconvenience. But they should realize that there are more important things than convenience.

Back 37

Straw Man

Front 38

The same word is used with two different meanings.

Back 38

Equivocation

Front 39

Criminal actions are illegal, and all murder trials are criminal actions, thus all murder trials are illegal. (Here the term "criminal actions" is used with two different meanings

Back 39

Equivocation

Front 40

All child-murderers are inhuman, thus, no child-murderer is human.

Back 40

Equivocation

Front 41

A plane is a carpenter's tool, and the Boeing 737 is a plane, hence the Boeing 737 is a carpenter's tool.

Back 41

Equivocation

Front 42

Emphasis is used to suggest a meaning different from the actual content of the proposition.

Back 42

Accent

Front 43

The first mate, seeking revenge on the captain, wrote in his journal, "The Captain was sober today." (

Back 43

Accent

Front 44

It would be illegal to give away *Free Beer*!

Back 44

Accent

Front 45

Because the parts of a whole have a certain property, it is argued that the whole has that property. That whole may be either an object composed of different parts, or it may be a collection or set of individual members

Back 45

Composition

Front 46

The brick wall is six feet tall. Thus, the bricks in the wall are six feet tall.

Back 46

Composition

Front 47

Germany is a militant country. Thus, each German is militant.

Back 47

Composition

Front 48

Because the whole has a certain property, it is argued that the parts have that property. The whole in question may be either a whole object or a collection or set of individual members.

Back 48

Division

Front 49

Each brick is three inches high, thus, the brick wall is three inches high.

Back 49

compisition

Front 50

Because the brain is capable of consciousness, each neural cell in the brain must be capable of consciousness

Back 50

Division