Logical Fallacies Flashcards
(23 cards)
What is Ad Hominem?
Attacking the person making the argument rather than the argument itself.
Example: “You can’t trust his analysis of our campaign data; he dresses terribly.”
What is a Straw Man fallacy?
Misrepresenting or exaggerating an opponent’s argument to make it easier to attack.
Example: “They want to improve website accessibility? So they think we should ignore design completely and make everything ugly?”
What is an Appeal to Ignorance?
Arguing that a claim is true simply because there is no evidence to disprove it (or vice versa).
Example: “No one has proven this new marketing channel doesn’t work, so it must be effective.”
What is a False Dichotomy / False Dilemma?
Presenting only two options as the only possibilities, when in fact more options exist.
Example: “We either invest heavily in this risky new ad platform, or our growth will completely stagnate.”
What is a Slippery Slope fallacy?
Arguing that a small first step will inevitably lead to a chain of related (usually negative) events without sufficient evidence.
Example: “If we allow comments on the blog, soon it will be filled with spam, driving away all legitimate users and destroying our brand reputation.”
What is a Circular Argument / Begging the Question?
Assuming the conclusion is true as part of the argument’s premise.
Example: “Our website has the best user experience because it’s designed so well.”
What is Hasty Generalization?
Drawing a conclusion based on insufficient evidence or a small, unrepresentative sample size.
Example: “Two users complained about the new feature, so it must be a complete failure for everyone.”
What is a Red Herring?
Introducing an irrelevant topic into an argument to divert attention from the original issue.
Example: When asked about declining conversion rates: “Yes, but look at how much our social media engagement has increased!”
What is an Appeal to Hypocrisy / Tu Quoque?
Discrediting an argument by pointing out that the person making it has acted inconsistently with their claim.
Example: “You say we need to optimize our landing pages, but your team’s last page had a terrible conversion rate too!”
What is a Causal Fallacy?
Incorrectly concluding that one thing causes another without sufficient evidence.
Example: Assuming a minor website change caused a major traffic drop without ruling out other factors like seasonality or algorithm updates.
What is Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc?
“After this, therefore because of this.” Assuming that because Event B followed Event A, Event A must have caused Event B.
Example: “We launched the new email campaign on Tuesday, and sales went up Wednesday. Therefore, the email campaign caused the sales increase.”
What is Correlation Implies Causation?
Assuming that because two things correlate, one must cause the other.
Example: “Our website traffic increased as the weather got warmer. Therefore, warm weather causes people to visit our website more.”
What is an Appeal to Authority (False/Irrelevant)?
Claiming something is true because an alleged authority figure said it.
Example: “This marketing tactic must be good; a famous celebrity endorsed it.”
What is an Appeal to Pity / Emotion?
Attempting to manipulate an emotional response in place of a valid argument.
Example: “We have to approve this ad budget; think of all the hard work the team put into the proposal!”
What is a Bandwagon Fallacy / Appeal to Popularity?
Arguing that something must be true or good because many people believe it or do it.
Example: “Everyone is using this new social media platform, so our brand needs to be there too.”
What is Equivocation?
Using ambiguous language or shifting the meaning of a word during an argument to mislead.
Example: Ad claiming “award-winning service” where the ‘award’ was from an unknown, possibly biased source.
What is a Composition Fallacy?
Assuming that what is true for a part must also be true for the whole.
Example: “Each element on this landing page is perfectly designed, therefore the entire landing page experience must be perfect.”
What is a Division Fallacy?
Assuming that what is true for the whole must also be true for its parts.
Example: “Our company is highly profitable, therefore every single marketing campaign we run must be profitable.”
What is Anecdotal Evidence Fallacy?
Using personal experience or isolated examples instead of sound arguments or compelling evidence to support a claim.
Example: “This marketing strategy worked wonders for my friend’s small business, so it will definitely work for our enterprise company.”
What is a Genetic Fallacy?
Judging something as good or bad based on its origin or source, rather than its own merits.
Example: “This analytics tool was developed by a company known for gaming, so it can’t be suitable for serious business analysis.”
What is a No True Scotsman fallacy?
Modifying a generalized statement to exclude a counterexample, rather than revising the statement.
Example: “No good marketer relies solely on vanity metrics.” “But John does, and he’s successful.” “Ah, well, no truly good marketer does.”
What is a Burden of Proof Fallacy?
Claiming that the burden of proof lies with someone else to disprove your claim, rather than with you to prove it.
Example: “You can’t prove this experimental marketing channel won’t work, so we should invest in it.”
What is a Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy?
Cherry-picking data clusters to suit an argument, while ignoring contrary data.
Example: Highlighting only the specific demographics and time periods where a campaign performed well, while ignoring the segments where it failed.
