Logical Fallacies

Thou Shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies

Some very common logical fallacies people commit every day

Red Herring

This fallacy introduces an irrelevant topic to divert attention from the original issue.

"We shouldn't focus on the fact that the politician lied about their tax returns; what about the important work they've done for the community?"

Appeal to Hypocrisy

This fallacy occurs when someone dismisses an argument by pointing out that the person making the argument is also guilty of the same thing.

"How can you say I shouldn't smoke when you smoke?"

Appeal To Ignorance (Burden Of Proof)

This fallacy occurs when someone argues that a claim is true because it hasn't been proven false, or vice versa.

"There is no evidence that they don't exist, so they must exist."

Sunk Cost Fallacy

This fallacy involves continuing an endeavor or endeavoring to recoup one's losses because of the time, money, or effort already invested.

"I've spent so much time on this project, I can't give up now."

Begging The Claim (Circular Reasoning)

This fallacy occurs when the conclusion of an argument is assumed in the premises.

"We should ban smoking because it's bad for you, and everyone knows smoking is bad for you."

Slippery Slope

This fallacy assumes that one event will inevitably lead to another without providing sufficient evidence for such a conclusion.

"If we allow students to use calculators in exams, next they'll want to use computers, and then they'll want to use the internet, and before you know it, they won't know how to do any math at all!"

Hasty Generalization

This fallacy involves making a broad generalization based on a small sample size.

"I met one rude person from that city, so everyone from that city must be rude."

Genetic Fallacy

This fallacy judges something as good or bad based on its origin rather than its current meaning or context.

"That car is bad because it was originally designed by Hitler's army."

Ad Hominem

This fallacy is one that attempts to invalidate an opponent’s position based on a personal trait or fact about the opponent rather than through logic.

"Katherine is a bad choice for mayor because she didn’t grow up in this town."

Appeal To Authority

This fallacy claims an authority figure’s expertise to support a claim despite this expertise being irrelevant or overstated.

"If you want to be healthy, you need to stop drinking coffee. I read it on a fitness blog."

Bandwagon Fallacy

This fallacy is one that claims that a certain action is the right thing to do because it’s popular.

"Of course it’s fine to wait until the last minute to write your paper. Everybody does it!"

Straw Man

is one that argues against a hyperbolic, inaccurate version of the opposition rather than their actual argument.

"Erin thinks we need to stop using all plastics, right now, to save the planet from climate change."

Equivocation

This fallacy is a statement crafted to mislead or confuse readers or listeners by using multiple meanings or interpretations of a word or simply through unclear phrasing.

"While I have a clear plan for the campus budget that accounts for every dollar spent, my opponent simply wants to throw money at special interest projects."

False Dilemma

This fallacy claims there are only two options in a given situation. Often, these two options are extreme opposites of each other, failing to acknowledge that other, more reasonable, options exist.

"If you don’t support my decision, you were never really friend."

Appeal To Pity

This fallacy attempts to sway a reader’s or listener’s opinion by provoking them emotionally.

"I know I should have been on time for the interview, but I woke up late and felt really bad about it, then the stress of being late made it hard to concentrate on driving here."

Causal Fallacy

This fallacy is one that implies a relationship between two things where one can’t actually be proven.

"When ice cream sales are up, so are shark attacks. Therefore, buying ice cream increases your risk of being bitten by a shark."

Loaded Question

This fallacy is where a question contains an assumption, making it difficult to provide a direct answer without appearing to agree with the assumption. This fallacy is commonly used in arguments to make the opponent appear guilty, uninformed, or biased.

"Are you still kicking your dog?"

No True Scotsman

This fallacy attempts to make a generalization true by changing the generalization to exclude a counterexample.

Person A: "No Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge."
Person B: "But my uncle Angus is a Scotsman and he puts sugar on his porridge."
Person A: "But no true Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge."