Fallacies

Question 1

Logical fallacies

Answer 1

Flaws in an argument

Often subtle

Learning to recognize these will
- strengthen your arguments
- Help you critique other arguments

Question 2

Hasty Generalization

Answer 2

A generalization based on insufficient or
unrepresented evidence

Question 3

Non sequitur ( does not follow)

Answer 3

A conclusion that does not follow logically
from preceding statements or that is based on
irrelevant data.

Question 4

False analogy

Answer 4

The assumption that because two things are
alike in some respects, they are alike in others

Question 5

“Either… or” fallacy

Answer 5

The suggestion that only two alternatives exist
when in fact there are more.

Question 6

False cause (Post Hoc, Coincidence vs causality)

Answer 6

The assumption that because one event
follows another, the first is the cause of the
second.

Question 7

Circular Reasoning/ Begging the Question
(Unsupported Assertion)

Answer 7

An argument in which the writer, instead of
applying evidence simply restates the point in other language.

Question 8

Bandwagon Appeal (Ad Populum)

Answer 8

A claim that an idea should be accepted
because a large number of people favor it or
believe it to be true

Question 9

Argument to the Person (Ad Hominem)

Answer 9

An attack on the person proposing an
argument rather than on the argument itself.

Question 10

Red herring

Answer 10

An argument that focuses on an irrelevant
issue to detract attention from the real issue

Question 11

Force and Fear (Ad Baculum)

Answer 11

committed
whenever the proponent of an argument
attempts to persuade the audience to accept
the conclusion… by predicting (or causing)
unpleasant consequences if it is not accepted

Question 12

Appeal to Celebrity/ Authority
(Ad Verecundiam)

Answer 12

consists of an
appeal to irrelevant authority, that is, an
‘authority’ who is not an authority in the field
of question (or at least one we have no reason
to believe to be such an authority).

Question 13

Pity (Ad Misericordiam)

Answer 13

appeal to accept the
truth of a conclusion out of pity for the arguer
or some third party. Either the arguer (or
someone else) is already an object of pity, or
they will become one if the conclusion is not
accepted

Question 14

Non-Disproof

Answer 14

One sometimes encounters arguments that
some claim should be accepted because they
have never been disproved. The move from
‘not disproved’ to ‘proved’ is invalid.

Question 15

Undistributed Middle

Answer 15

An error in deductive reasoning in which the parts of a
premise may, or may not, overlap. The middle term is
undistributed in that all instances of a conclusion are
also instances of the premise