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fallacies summary
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This is a summary of the fallacies you need to know
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AW fallacies: Ad hominem: attacking the person of a source, rather than his or her qualifications or
reliability or the actual argument they make
o It’s no surprise that Carl Sagan argued for life on Mars – After all, he was a well-
known atheist, I don’t believe it for a minute
Appeal to ignorance (ad ignorantiam): arguing that a claim is true just because it has not
been shown to be false
o I do not have much information on this except the general statement of the agency
that there is nothing in the files to disprove his Communist connections
Appeal to pity (ad misericordiam): appealing to pity as an argument for special treatment
o I know I flunked every exam, but if I don’t pass this course, I’ll have to retake it in
summer school. You have to let me pass!
Ad populum: appealing to the emotion of a crowd, what most people thinks is true
o Everyone learns from there parents that Adam and Eve were the first people on
earth. Therefore it is true.
Circular argument: implicitly using your conclusion as a premise
o The bible is true because God wrote it, the Bible says that God exists, therefor God
exists
o You can count on WARP News for the facts, because the station’s motto is “we just
give you the facts” so that must be a fact too
Complex question: posing a question in such a way that people cannot agree or disagree
with you without committing themselves to some other claim you wish to promote
o Are you still still as self-centered as you used to be?
Saying yes or no, commits you to agreeing that you used to be selfish
o Will you follow your conscience instead of your pocketbook and donate to the
cause?
Saying no, makes people feel guilty
Saying yes, makes people feel noble
Equivocation: sliding from one meaning of a term to another in the middle of an argument
o Women and men are physically and emotionally different; the sexes are not equal,
then and therefore the law should not pretend that we are
Equal: the sexes are not physically and emotionally equal
Equality before the law
False cause: generic term for any questionable conclusion about cause and effect
False dilemma: Reducing the options you consider to just two, often diametrically opposed
to each other and unfair to the people against whom the dilemma is posed
Loaded language: language that primarily plays on the emotions. It does not make an
argument at all
Non sequitur: drawing a conclusion that ‘does not follow’; that is, a conclusion that is not
reasonable inference from the evidence
Overgeneralizing: generalizing from too few examples
Overlooking alternatives: forgetting that things may happen for a variety of reasons, not just
one
o When the roads are icy, the mail is late.
The male is late, therefore the roads are icy
Persuasive definition: defining a term in a way that may seem to be straightforward but is in
fact loaded
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