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Definition
| Attacking the arguer and not the argument. This is used to redirect the focus of the argument away from the idea to the person holding the idea in order to discredit the person and therefore make that person's argument meaningless. This is faulty because anyone can have a correct idea, whether they are a good person, bad person or neither |
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| Most people use individual incidents that they've experienced, observed or heard about as evidence of scientific fact. Anecdotes do not make science. Anecdotes are given by human beings with faulty memories and individual biases and these come through, often unconsciously, in the telling of anecdotes. |
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| The acceptance of a statement by someone who is in an "authoritative" position by virtue of education, experience, station in life or other reason. This is faulty mainly because no one knows everything, regardless of the topic. This can be manifested, among other ways, by the acceptance of a wrong idea just because it comes from someone we respect or the rejection a right idea just because it was supported by someone we disrespect. |
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| Avoidance of Positive Information |
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Definition
| It is not enough to just attack your opponents theory. Proving someone else wrong does not prove you right. You have to have evidence to support your argument, not just denigrate your opponents argument. |
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| The maker of an extraordinary claim has to prove it, because prior evidence points in the other direction. If someone wants to change the accepted paradigm, then they must provide evidence and logic that says it should be done. |
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| Confusion of Correlation and Causation |
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Definition
| When two things occur simultaneously, it does not mean that one causes the other. Many relationships are spurious, meaning that something else leads to the two different effects occurring simultaneously |
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| Most of us, most of the time want certainty. This leads us to reject conclusions that aren't 100% certain. This isn't how the scientific method works. Conclusions are tentative because information is neither perfect or complete. This desire for certainty is impossible to satisfy. |
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Term
| Desire for Simple Answers |
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Definition
| Most of us want nice, neat, simple explanations for phenomenon in the world. This leads to the rejection of conclusions that aren't simple, nice or neat. Most answers to real-world questions are neither simple nor neat. This desire for simplicity is nearly impossible to satisfy. |
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Definition
| The conclusion you make from the evidence must be warranted by the evidence you have. People often make the assumption that the evidence proves more than it actually does. |
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| This is the consideration of only two possibilities as all possible outcomes. For example, "either you love America or hate it." The real realm of possibilities is almost always more than two. |
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| An analogy doesn't constitute proof. It is merely a rhetorical tool that is particularly effective when a strong metaphor is used. For example, "Raping the environment." Whatever one feels about the environment, few people support the concept of rape and it inspires emotions that are not related to the argument. |
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Definition
| Beliefs or ideas based on false information are likely to be false beliefs or ideas. |
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| People ignore new facts or viewpoints. They rarely change their most fundamental presuppositions - they build up an immunity to new ideas. This is a problem largely because nobody has perfect, complete information and should always remain open to new ideas |
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Term
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Definition
| Most people are plagued with inconsistency in their thoughts and beliefs. If a person's attitudes are inconsistent, then they are not bound by logic and are thus unlikely to make sense in an argument. |
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Definition
| If there is no evidence to support a claim, then it is fallacious to believe in the claim. Keep in mind that the information we have is always incomplete because from time to time evidence is lost, missing, suppressed or impossible to obtain for various reasons. |
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Term
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Definition
| People often claim to remember things exactly as they happened or as they were exposed to them. Memory, however, is a highly faulty thing. Memories become distorted, deleted, added and sometimes are completely fabricated. These effects become stronger over time, therefore, and everyone who claims to be certain about their memories can surely be proven wrong from time to time. Memory, therefore, cannot be relied upon as a source of information. |
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Term
| Misunderstanding the Nature of Statistics |
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Definition
| People have little understanding of how statistics work. They often disavow the veracity of statistics because they don't understand them. |
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Term
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Definition
| People tend to decide what they think about something without looking for evidence, then they look only for examples that confirm their assumption. People ignore evidence that disputes their already-made assumptions. |
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| Some people argue that taking one step in a particular direction will lead to the extreme possibility down that path. This is the argument that one thing necessarily leads to another. |
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Term
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Definition
| This the creation or attribution of information in a denigrating way to the position of your opponent, so that your opponent is easier to attack. It can also be done by claiming a position for your opponent(s) that are not necessarily true |
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Definition
| Something isn't true simply because someone says it is. I say you should always question the veracity of any statement that seems questionable (or any statement for that matter). |
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Term
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Definition
| The "You Too" defense. This is when someone accuses you of something and you respond by saying that they do it to. It is used to deflect attention away from the person initially accused, however, just because an accuser does something, that doesn't mean the accused doesn't do it as well. |
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