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24 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Misrepresenting someone's argument to make it easier to attack.
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Strawman
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Asserting that if we allow A to happen, then Z will consequently happen too, therefore A should not happen.
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Slippery slope
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Moving the goalposts to create exceptions when a claim is shown to be false.
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special pleading
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Believing that 'runs' occur to statistically independent phenomena such as roulette wheel spins.
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the gambler's fallacy
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Where two alternative states are presented as the only possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist.
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black or white
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Presuming that a real or perceived relationship between things means that one is the cause of the other.
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false cause
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Attacking your opponent's character or personal traits in an attempt to undermine their argument.
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ad hominem
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Asking a question that has an assumption built into it so that it can't be answered without appearing guilty.
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loaded question
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Appealing to popularity or the fact that many people do something as an attempted form of validation.
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bandwagon
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A circular argument in which the conclusion is included in the premise.
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begging the question
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Using the opinion or position of an authority figure, or institution of authority, in place of an actual argument.
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appeal to authority
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Making the argument that because something is 'natural' it is therefore valid, justified, inevitable, good, or ideal.
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appeal to nature
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Assuming that what's true about one part of something has to be applied to all, or other, parts of it.
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composition/division
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Using personal experience or an isolated example instead of a valid argument, especially to dismiss statistics.
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anecdotal
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Manipulating an emotional response in place of a valid or compelling argument.
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appeal to emotion
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Avoiding having to engage with criticism by turning it back on the accuser - answering criticism with criticism.
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tu quoque
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Saying that the burden of proof lies not with the person making the claim, but with someone else to disprove.
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burden of proof
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Making what could be called an appeal to purity as a way to dismiss relevant criticisms or flaws in an argument.
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no true Scotsman
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Cherry-picking data clusters to suit an argument, or finding a pattern to fit a presumption.
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the Texas sharpshooter
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Presuming that because a claim has been poorly argued, or a fallacy has been made, that is necessarily wrong.
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the fallacy of fallacy
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Saying that because one finds something difficult to understand that it's therefore not true.
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personal incredulity
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Using double meanings or ambiguities of language to mislead or misrepresent the truth.
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ambiguity
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Judging something good or bad on the basis of where it comes from, or from whom it comes.
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genetic
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Saying that a compromise, or middle point, between two extremes is the truth.
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middle ground
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