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limiting considerations to only 2 alternatives when there are actually more alternatives
Either you decide that you can afford this stereo, or you decide that you're going to do without music for awhile. |
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generalizing based on a non-representative sample
poll by CNN viewers |
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concluding that because X is Y, Y is X
Most Harvard students are very bright. Most very bright people are Harvard students. |
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a concept which has borderline cases
She told me to call her once my contractions are strong |
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when it is difficult to tell if a sentence or part of a sentence refers to individuals in a group or the group itself
People who own Hummers have a lot more money than people who own Toyotas |
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thinking that because a group/ whole has a certain characteristic, so do the members/ parts
The Democratic Party supports growth in education spending. Sally is a member of the party, so she supports growth in education spending. |
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thinking that because the individuals/ parts have a certain characteristic, so does the group
This computer is made with the best possible parts, so it must be the best possible computer |
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the dictionary definition of a word
A tamarin is a small, forest-dwelling South American monkey of the marmoset family |
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a definition which gives the characteristics of the thing used
A samovar is an urn that has a spigot and is used to boil water for tea |
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a word or phrase used to make something sound less bad than it is
bowel movement |
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when it is difficult to tell what noun a pronoun corresponds to
Jack always beats Aaron at tennis; he doesn't have a very good backhand, but his forehand is excellent. |
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| when a claim or sentence fails to provide sufficient detail |
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an argument which reasons from the specific to the general
70% of the teachers at MC are Democrats, therefore 70% of teachers are Democrats. |
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a generalization fo a group based on too little evidence
I've received emails from 10% of our union members expressing their support for our stance; it is obviously very popular with everyone. |
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a remark which suggests something but does not state it directly
Ladies and gentlemen, I am proof that there is at least one candidate in this race who does not have a drinking problem. |
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a word or phrase used to make something sound worse than it is
Leave it up to the tree-huggers to protest drilling in the Arctic |
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| circumstantial ad hominem |
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Definition
attacking a person based on their circumstances rather than addressing their views
Pattie can't give you sound advice on whether or not to engage in underage drinking; after all, she's a mother. |
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| a definition of a word specifying a technical meaning in a specific context |
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| sneaky language used to protect a claim from criticism |
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| attacking a claim based on its origin or history rather than its content |
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| language used to minimize the significance of a claim |
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| a definition meant to persuade |
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| extravagant overstatement |
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| a statement used to suggest there is evidence for a claim without actually producing the evidence |
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| a comparison which is supposed to make the initial subject look better or worse than it actually is |
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| attacking one's opponent or claim through jokes, sarcasm, or ridicule |
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| an argument which attacks the person reasoning rather than the reasoning itself |
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| attacking a person for holding inconsistent views rather than the views themselves |
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| associating someone with something unsavory in order to get others to reject the person's views |
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| attacking a weaker version of an argument than is available |
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| rejecting a policy or conclusion because it is not perfect |
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| insisting that a line must be drawn at some precise point when this is unnecessary |
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| arguing that if X happens, so will R, S, and T when this is not necessarily true or well supported |
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| misplacing the burden of proof |
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| placing the burden of proof on the wrong side of an issue |
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| arguing that we should believe in X because no one has proved X to be untrue |
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| generalizing with insufficient evidence |
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| assuming the conclusion of an argument in one of the premises |
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| an argument with three claims and three terms which generalizes from a group to a specific individual or set of individuals |
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| the likelihood that the prevalence of a feature in a sample will be different from the prevalence of that feature in the general population |
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| a comparison which holds that because X and Y share characteristics Q, R, and Z, they must also share characteristic P |
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| generalizing based on a few instances of personal experience |
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| believing that 2 or more events are dependent on each other when in fact they are not |
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| when it is difficult to tell which of two or more meanings is intended by a word or phrase |
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| when it is difficult to tell which of 2 or more meanings is intended by a sentence or part of a sentence |
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| results when a sample size is too small, self-selective, or lacking in diversity |
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| a definition which either disambiguates the meaning of a word, or narrows the scope of its meaning |
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identifying an example of the thing
By "Scripture," I mean writings like the Bible and the Koran |
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giving another word that means the same thing
fastidious means the same as fussy |
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