Fallacies Flashcards
(18 cards)
Personal Attack
Occurs when a claim or argument is rejected by attacking the person or their motives
-My doctor tells me that I should eat healthy and exercise, but have you seen how overweight he is?
Look Whose Talking
When an arguer rejects anothher person argument or claim because that person fails to practice what they preach
Doctor: you should quit smoking
Patient: Look whose talking dr. smokestack
Two Wrong Make A Right
Occurs when an arguer attempts to justify a wrongful act by claiming that some other act is just as worst
-Jimmy stole Tommy’s lunch in the past.
Therefore, it is acceptable for Tommy to steal Jimmy’s lunch today.
Appeal to Force
Arguer threatens harm to the reader or listener
-If you don’t accept X as true, I will hurt you.
Appeal to Emotion
Occurs when arguer attempts to evoke feeling of pity or compassion
Bandwagon Argument
Occurs when an arument plays on a person desire to be popular accepted or valued
Straw man
Ocurs when arguer distorts opponents argument or claim in order to make it easier to attack
-Zebedee: What is your view on the Christian God?
Mike: I don’t believe in any gods, including the Christian one.
Zebedee: So you think that we are here by accident, and all this design in nature is pure chance, and the universe just created itself?
Mike: You got all that from me stating that I just don’t believe in any gods?
Red Herring
Occurs when arguer tries to sidetrack audience by raising irrelevant issue and then claims that the original issue has effectively been settled by the irrelevant issue
Mike: It is morally wrong to cheat on your spouse, why on earth would you have done that?
Ken: But what is morality exactly?
Mike: It’s a code of conduct shared by cultures.
Ken: But who creates this code?…
Equivocation (Playing with words)
Occurs when a key work is used in two or more sense in the same argument and the apparent success of the argument depends on the shift in meaning
The priest told me I should have faith.
I have faith that my son will do well in school this year.
Therefore, the priest should be happy with me.
Begging then Question/Circular Reasoning
Occurs when an arguer states or assumes as a premise in the very thing he or she is thing to prove as conclusion
-The Bible is the Word of God because God tells us it is… in the Bible.
Inappropriate Appeal to (Missuse of) Authority
Occurs when an arguer cites an authority who there is good reason to believe is unreliable
According to person 1, Y is true.
Therefore, Y is true.
Appeal to Ignorance
Occurs when an arguer appeals to a lack of evidence against some claim as positive evidence that the claim is true or false
-In spite of all the talk, not a single flying saucer report has been authenticated. We may assume, therefore, there are not such things as flying saucers.
False Alternative (Dilemma)
This fallacy is committed when an arguer poses a false dichotomy
-I thought you were a good person, but you weren’t at church today.
Questionable Cause
Occurs when an arguer give insufficient evidence for a claim that one thing is the cause of another
-Many homosexuals have AIDS. Therefore, homosexuality causes AIDS
Hasty (Erroneous) Generalization
This fallacy occurs when an arguer draw a general conclusion from a sample that is either biased or too small
-My father smoked four packs of cigarettes a day since age fourteen and lived until age sixty-nine. Therefore, smoking really can’t be that bad for you.
Slippery Slope
Arguer commits this fallacy when they claim that a seemingly harmless action will lead to a disastrous outcome
-We cannot unlock our child from the closet because if we do, she will want to roam the house. If we let her roam the house, she will want to roam the neighborhood. If she roams the neighborhood, she will get picked up by a stranger in a van, who will sell her in a sex slavery ring in some other country. Therefore, we should keep her locked up in the closet.
Weak Analogy
When the conclusion of an argument depends upon a comparison between two or more things that are not similar in relevant respects, the fallacy of weak analogy is committed
-Believing in the literal resurrection of Jesus is like believing in the literal existence of zombies.
Inconsistency
This fallacy occurs when an arguer asserts inconsistent premises, asserts a premise that is inconsistent with his or her conclusion, or argues for inconsistent conclusions
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
