Fallacies Flashcards
(20 cards)
What is equivocation?
A logical fallacy that uses ambiguous language to mislead or confuse.
Examples include misusing the term ‘light’ in different contexts.
What is conflation?
The merging of two distinct concepts into one, leading to confusion.
Examples include equating education with intelligence.
What characterizes a circular argument?
An argument where the conclusion is included in the premise, providing no actual proof.
An example is stating ‘the law must be obeyed because it is illegal to break the law.’
Define begging the question.
Assuming the truth of the conclusion within the premise without evidence.
An example is ‘this book is essential because it’s a must-read.’
What is invalid deduction?
A logical fallacy where the conclusion does not logically follow from the premises.
An example is ‘all cats are animals; therefore, all animals are cats.’
What is a casual flaw?
A fallacy that incorrectly establishes a cause-and-effect relationship.
An example is ‘washing my car causes rain because it always rains afterward.’
What is rash generalization?
A fallacy that draws broad conclusions based on insufficient evidence.
An example is concluding that all dogs are aggressive based on one barking dog.
Define sweeping generalization.
An overgeneralization that applies a specific rule to all cases without exceptions.
An example is ‘all politicians are corrupt; therefore, this candidate must be corrupt too.’
What is the restriction of options fallacy?
Presenting only two choices when more options exist, often to manipulate.
An example is ‘you either support this law or you don’t care about the community.’
What is a slippery slope argument?
Arguing that a small first step will inevitably lead to a chain of negative events.
An example is ‘if we allow students to redo tests, they will expect to redo everything.’
What does personal attack (ad hominem) mean?
Attacking the person making an argument rather than the argument itself.
An example is discrediting someone’s opinion based on their education level.
Define counter-attack (tu quoque).
A fallacy that deflects criticism by accusing the critic of similar faults.
An example is responding to health advice by pointing out the advisor’s own unhealthy behavior.
What is a straw man argument?
Misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.
An example is distorting a position on environmental regulations to imply extreme views.
What is confusion of sufficient conditions?
Mistaking a condition that is necessary for a result as being sufficient to guarantee it.
An example is believing that simply having a college degree guarantees success.
Fill in the blank: An example of equivocation is ‘A feather is light; therefore, a feather cannot be ______.’
heavy
Fill in the blank: A circular argument can be seen in the statement ‘The mayor is the best leader because he ______.’
leads the city well
True or False: A casual flaw establishes a correct cause-and-effect relationship.
False
What logical fallacy is characterized by ‘you can either be a vegetarian or you’re contributing to animal cruelty’?
Restriction of options
Fill in the blank: A rash generalization is made when one concludes that all students must be bad at math because one _______.
friend failed his math class
What type of argument is illustrated by ‘If we legalize marijuana, soon we will have to legalize all drugs’?
Slippery slope argument
