Master List of Logical Fallacies

Preparation for College Composition

From Class:

1. Ad Hominem
a. Definition: An attack on the person making the argument instead of an
engagement with the argument itself.
b. Example: The principal at Barrow High School is a bad principal because her
announcements are annoying.
c. Argument Fallacy: A person’s characteristics, regardless of how terrible, have
nothing to do with an argument when the argument is unrelated to them.
2. Strawman Argument
a. Definition: When “engaging with the other side,” a strawman is the creation of a
simplified argument, for the sake of having an easy argument to tear apart.
b. Example: The people who expect the United States to offer completely free
university educations obviously don’t understand how taxes work!
c. Argument Fallacy: Creating an argument that is easy to deconstruct does
nothing to interact with the opposing argument - it still exists, and all you’ve done
is prove that you can’t engage with the real argument.
3. Black and White Fallacy
a. Definition: When an issue of any kind is boiled down to having only two extreme
opposing options, where choosing one automatically means support of the other.
b. Example: Oh, you’re not in favor of single-payer social health care reform? Do
you just want everybody to have to pay extreme private health care rates?
c. Argument Fallacy: Almost any issue worth arguing about is nuanced enough to
have multiple varying viewpoints along a spectrum, so reducing it down to two
extremes only serves to make one seem better.
4. “Only One Problem” Fallacy
a. Definition: A variation on the above; positioning an argument as if one issue
cannot be considered while another, more pressing or extreme issue exists.
b. Example: Why are you taking time to worry about relatively minor local pollution
issues when the entire ocean is at risk? We should be focused on that!
 c. Argument Fallacy: People have the ability to care about more than one issue at
a time, so all this does is serve to shift attention to one issue over another.
5. Appeal to Authority
a. Definition: Using a supposed authority figure (person, institution, etc.) as a valid
source or argument when that figure has no authority in the given topic.
b. Example: Neil DeGrasse Tyson said that the climate is ruined and it’s all our
fault! He’s smart, he’s an astrophysicist, we should listen to him!
c. Argument Fallacy: Relying on an “authority” who, regardless of intelligence,
doesn’t have anything to do with your topic, is the same, functionally, as relying
on a random person with an opinion.
6. False Equivalence
a. Definition: Equating two things (objects, opinions, or arguments) that, despite
their apparent similarities, are different, especially given the argument at hand.
b. Example: Socialism always leads to Communism, and Communism always
leads to a totalitarian dictatorship where the people are deprived of resources!
c. Argument Fallacy: This has one of the same problems as “Black and White” - it
relies on overly simplifying complex issues just for the sake of making a point.
7. No True Scotsman
a. Definition: Argument where a person or group is excluded from the ideals of a
true version of that group, where no true version of that group has been defined.
b. Example: How can that person call themselves a nerd if they don’t like Firefly?
No real nerd would hate Firefly! That person isn’t a nerd!
c. Argument Fallacy: Excluding a person (etc.) from a group when you haven’t
defined the group is a tactic you can only use to deliberately exclude someone
from a group: no true version of that group exists because groups are fluid.
8. Guilt (or Honor) by Association
a. Definition: Ascribing guilt or glory for an action or idea to somebody who, though
not involved with the principle activity, was in some way close to someone who
is.
b. Example: Did you hear that Al Gore created the internet? I mean, technically he
sponsored legislation that publicized the modern internet, but still!
c. Argument Fallacy: Only the people involved with an action can claim
responsibility for the action; technically speaking a person’s associates are not
necessarily a reflection on their beliefs or character or accomplishments.
9. Shifting Ground
a. Definition: Changing the topic (or your opinions) when prompted for an
argument. Typically changed to a topic or opinion that will make you look good,
but doesn’t actually address the original argumentative prompt in any way.
b. Example: “Mr. Evans, who are you going to vote for in the election?” …
“Teachers are at risk of influencing students and upsetting parents if they share
their political opinions, and I value the teaching profession too highly to
jeopardize that.”
c. Argument Fallacy: This one is easy - you just didn’t answer the question!
10. Appeal to Common Ground
a. Definition: Prefacing an argument (or ignoring one) by shifting ground to
common, relatable experiences, that will make the arguer more appealing.
b. Example: My dad owned a rusted out Ford F-150 that had he owned since
coming home from Vietnam, so I support the American auto industry!
c. Argument Fallacy: Attempting to rely on common ground is, really, an appeal to
emotion - you are ignoring the actual ongoing argument, and just trying to get the
person to like you or agree with your irrelevant point.
11. Appeal to Tradition
a. Definition: An argument based on the fact that something has been done before
and therefore is worth doing again. Can also be fictitious (something that has not
really been done that long, but is said to be a “tradition.”)
b. Example: Every president in this country has been a storied career politician with
a history of local politics, and I do too, so I’ll be a good president.
c. Argument Fallacy: Many traditions are, once examined, not inherently worth
continuing. An argument or idea should stand on its own at all times. What
worked in the past may not work now, or may be totally irrelevant.
From Students: (You all were supposed to share with the class why your
fallacies are incorrect ways to formulate arguments. You didn’t, mostly, but you
were supposed to, so I have omitted that here).

Period 4:
1. Appeal to Pity
a. Definition: Attempting to win support for an argument or cause by exploiting the
other side's feeling of pity or guilt when disconnected from the argument itself.
b. Example: If you don't grade my paper higher than I won't be able to go to state
this weekend! Come on! I've waited for this my whole life! I deserve an A!
2. Moral Equivalence
a. Definition: An argument that compares two really unrelated things to point out
that one is as morally flawed or correct as the other, or isn’t, to draw attention to
the one closer to the arguer's interest.
b. Example: The Nazis weren't that bad in comparison to the Maoist Communists,
because more people died under Mao and Stalin and Pol Pot than they did in the
Holocaust.
3. Argumentum ad Populum (Bandwagon Fallacy)
a. Definition: An argument that something must be good, or true, because many or
most people believe it to be good, or true. Also works in reverse (bad, or false).
b. Example: Practically nobody in the entire world believes in aliens, so obviously
aliens are not real! If they were, more people would know about them!
4. Circular Argument
a. Definition: A circular argument is any argument in which the conclusions and the
premises are the same, where your evidence is the same as your point.
b. Example: Mr. Evans is a bad teacher because he doesn't know how to teach! If
he was a better teacher, we would be learning more!
5. Cherry Picking Fallacy
a. Definition: Using deliberately selected evidence in order to persuade the
audience to accept a position, and withholding deliberately (or omitting
accidentally) evidence to the contrary.
b. Example: I give 5% of my annual income to reputable, respectable charities! I
volunteer twice a month at a homeless shelter I’m a good person!
6. Hasty Generalization
a. Definition: An argument that attempts (sometimes deliberately, sometimes
accidentally) to draw a conclusion from an insignificant sample size, and
therefore might misconstrue conclusions that are not in line with "the norm."
b. Example: All 4 of the millennials I know are lazy, and worthless! What’s wrong
with this generation? Why are all the kids these days so lazy and unmotivated?
7. Genetic Fallacy
a. Definition: An attempt to draw a conclusion based solely on the history or origin
of an item, or idea, or argument, instead of its current meaning and context.
b. Example: You're not going to wear a wedding ring, are you? Don't you know that
the wedding ring originally symbolized ankle chains worn by women to prevent
them from running away from their husbands? I would not have thought you
would be a party to such a sexist practice!
8. Moving the Goalposts:
a. Definition: When an argument has been lost, this is an attempt to change the
criteria for victory in an attempt to dismiss evidence. Typically takes the form of
"Oh, well that doesn't really count. What about X?" Then when X is presented, "X
isn't good enough! What about Y?" etc.
b. Example: “Illegal immigrants are a drain on the economy because they take
away jobs from legal Americans!” … “No they don’t, and here’s proof!” …”Yeah,
okay, but I’m still right because what about the fact that they don’t pay taxes?” …
“Many do pay taxes, and here’s proof!” .... “Oh yeah, what about…?” etc.
9. Appeal to Emotion
a. Definition: An argument based not on reasoning or evidence, but on the
manipulation of any emotion, typically joy, fear, anger, lust, or pity, especially
when sufficient reasoning or evidence are not possible / nonexistent.
b. Example: There must be an objective purpose to human existence! We are here
in the universe for a reason! Imagine how sad and depressing it would be if we
turned out to just be a big accident with no real meaning to our lives.

10. Nirvana Fallacy

i. Definition: An argument based upon the idea that an imperfect solution,
however favorable to a bad solution, is not worth considering because it is
imperfect.
 ii. Example: Hillary Clinton is worse than Donald Trump, yeah, but do you
really want to vote for somebody who is a felon and has ties to the big
banks?
11. False Dilemma
a. Definition: The creation of an imaginary problem, typically for the sake of
preferencing one OR creating an irrelevant “third best option,” where two
opposing options are seen as equally bad for different reasons.
b. Example: Should I go to a smaller, less prestigious in-state school and pay less
for tuition, or a larger, arguably better school but pay 5x as much?
12. Appeal to Wealth
a. Definition: An argument based upon perceived, not actual, value. A thing that is
the most expensive or more expensive version of a thing is better than the
cheaper version of that thing automatically.
b. Example: Rolex makes some of the best watches! You know because of how
expensive they are. But really, Patek Philippe makes the BEST watches, and you
KNOW that because they’re the most expensive.

Period 5:
1. Argumentum ad Lapidem / Appeal to the Stone
a. Definition: When engaging with another argument, this refers to the act of
dismissing a statement or argument as absurd, crazy, etc. without giving proof of
its absurdity. Similar to "rejecting the premise," but without giving reasons for that
rejection.
b. Example: Original example --- Samuel Johnson once kicked a stone to refute
Bishop Berkeley's argument that "material objects do not exist, only minds and
the way minds interpret ideas." When the stone moved, he claimed the idea was
absurd. However, he had not truly proved that the stone was not an idea in his
mind.
2. Shifting the Burden of Proof
a. Definition: Attempting to force the opposing side of an initially presented
argument to offer proof opposing that argument. Typically takes the form of
"Claim 1 is true." "Can you prove Claim 1?" "Can you disprove it?"
 b. Example: “Aliens are real!” … “Can you prove that?” … “Can you prove that
they’re not real? No? Well, obviously they must be then!”
3. Reductio ad Hitlerum
a. Definition: Dismissing any idea or argument as negative, untrue, or “evil,” simply
because of its association with negative history. Typically takes the form of an
arbitrary comparison to Adolf Hitler / Nazi Germany. The same arguments can
also be a comparison to any other accepted “evil” force.
b. Example: Modern feminists and social justice warriors often say we should
prevent artists from creating racist or sexist content! Even if it's bad, that's a
violation of free speech! The Nazis were against free speech; do we want to live
in a world ruled by what are essentially modern Nazis?
4. Slippery Slope argument
a. Definition: Arguing that just because an event has happened, an "extreme"
version of the event, or a seemingly related event, is now inevitable. Typically,
this is a problem with skipping steps in a logical process. It makes assumptions
about future events with little reason to do so.
b. Example: Did you hear that people are saying guns kill people? What’s next?
Are they gonna try to take all our guns away forever and murder helpless
civilians?
5. Bandwagon Fallacy (Argumentum ad Populum)
a. Definition: An argument that something must be good, or true, because many or
most people believe it to be good, or true. Also works in reverse (bad, or false).
b. Example: Practically nobody in the entire world believes in aliens, so obviously
aliens are not real! If they were, more people would know about them!
6. Circular Argument
a. Definition: A circular argument is any argument in which the conclusions and the
premises are the same, where your evidence is the same as your point.
b. Example: Mr. Evans is a bad teacher because he doesn't know how to teach! If
he was a better teacher, we would be learning more!
7. Appeal to Ignorance
a. Definition: The argument that a conclusion must be true, because there is no
evidence against it. Similar to "shifting the burden of truth" but this does not
necessarily involve engaging with another argument or arguer.
b. Example: I have every reason to believe I am a great, respected, likable human
being, because nobody has ever told me otherwise.