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| same term is used in two or more senses. i.e. he is a good man and he is a good thief. |
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| How can you expose the fallacy of equivocation? |
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1) identify the word or phrase that shifts meaning.
2) identify the two different meanings |
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| ambiguous syntax or grammar. i.e. "It won't be a real clam chowder unless you put your heart into it." "I shall lose no time in reading your book." |
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| exaggeration - i.e. calling something a 'crisis' that is merely a problem. |
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| refuting a weak or stupid version of your opponent's argument. "knocking down a straw man" i.e. an optimist 'refutes' a pessimist by stating that not everything is bad. (pessimist did not say that everything is bad, just most things are bad.) |
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| attacking the person instead of the argument the person is making. |
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| direct attack on a person's trustworthiness. i.e. "how can you believe anything that Fred says?" |
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literally means 'you, too'
accusing your critic of the same thing he accuses you of doing. i.e. "You are a liar" "Well, you're a liar, too!" |
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illegitimate appeal to authority. "X brand of pantyhose is great because Joe Namath (a football player who never wears pantyhose) said so."
"X brand of medicine is good because Marcus Wellby (an actor who portrays a doctor on TV) says so. |
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| appeal to force. ('baculum' means 'stick') "If you don't agree with me, I'll put you in jail." |
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| appeal to pity. "If you don't agree with me, I'll cry all night." |
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| appeal to shame, i.e. you shouldn't believe in extraterrestrials because, if you do, people will make fun of you. |
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appeal to the masses. i.e. 99% of Americans drink soda, therefore soda is good for your health. Students who wear X brand jeans are cool, therefore you should buy x brand jeans.
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| appeal to ignorance. "I've never heard of Plato, so he can't be important." "He can't prove that he earned the money, so he must have stolen it." |
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| oversimplification. Applying truth about a simple case to a special case. i.e. water is the most valuable substance, therefore you should trade your diamonds for water. or Man is a rational animal, therefore, any man should be able to pass a logic course. |
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| arguing from the part to the whole. What is true of the part may not be true of the whole. i.e. Every actor in the movie is great, therefore the movie is great. |
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arguing from the whole to the part.
Eating 10 steaks is bad for your health, therefore eating one steak is bad for your health. |
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| not allowing for gradations. i.e. No man is perfect, therefore all men are wicked. Also called a "false dichotomy" or "fallacy of the excluded middle" |
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means "it does not follow"
Example: I ate tuna for breakfast. I don't want to do my homework now. Therefore, eating tuna for breakfast makes me not want to do homework. |
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| Also called "petitio principii." assuming what you set out to prove. i.e. You can 't help believing in free will. You are predestined to believe in it. |
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| has a hidden assumption. "Do you think we should keep attending these worthless meetings or not?" Assumes that the meetings are worthless. |
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| example: The Bible is the Word of God. How do we know that the Bible is the Word of God? Because it says so in the Bible. |
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| drawing a conclusion from too few examples. i.e. our baseball team lost three games, therefore our team is full of losers. |
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Term
| post hoc ergo propter hoc |
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Definition
means "after this, therefore caused by this"
Very common fallacy!! "I ate a tuna sandwich for breakfast, I got an A on the test at 11 a.m., therefore, tuna sandwiches help me to get better grades." |
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Term
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Definition
| other name for 'black and white' fallacy or "fallacy of the excluded middle" Assumes there are only two choices when there really are more. |
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| fallacy of the excluded middle |
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Definition
| another name for the black and white fallacy or "false dichotomy". Assumes there are only two choices when there really are more. |
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| Adding extra lines in the argument that are irrelevant to the conclusion. Changing the topic of discussion. Added to confuse the reader or listener and move attention away from the argument. |
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another name for "begging the question".
assuming what you set out to prove. i.e. You can 't help believing in free will. You are predestined to believe in it. |
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