Logical Falacies

Question 1

Ad hominem

Answer 1

in that fallacy, you attack the person making the argument instead of the argument itself. (Imagine Christopher Hitchens violently attacking his opponent in samurai armor on the debate stage.)

Question 2

Appeal to belief

Answer 2

The Fallacy has the general pattern “Most people believe x is true; therefore, X is true.” (Most people believe the earth is flat, therefore the earth is flat)

Question 3

Begging the question

Answer 3

You assume a claim is true and then use that assumption as evidence to prove the claim is true. (Imagine proving that there must be a first cause by assuming there must be a first cause.)

Question 4

Biased sample

Answer 4

If a sample drawn from a smaller pool has a bias, conclusion about the sample cannot be applied to a larger pool. (Imagine seeing two gay people with a lisp and concluding all gay people have a lisp.)

Question 5

Post hoc ergo prosper hoc

Answer 5

The term is latin for “after this, therefore because of this.” Just because one thing follows another doesn’t mean that one caused the other. (Imagine a stork flying out a hospital window and the husband concluding that the stork brought the baby.)

Question 6

Slippery slope

Answer 6

In that fallacy, you claim that a chain reaction of events will take place, inevitably leading to a conclusion that no one could want. (Imagine a priest hallucinating on the ground imagining they’re going down a huge water slide)