lnformal Fallacies

Fallacies of lnsufficient Evidence - premises fail to provide adequate evidence for the conclusion

1. Fallacy of Hasty Generalization -the quantity of the evidence is not commensurate with the
scope and the importance of the conclusion being drawn.
2. Fallacy of Assumption Without Proof - assuming the conclusion is true even without proofs on
some premise or premises in an argument.
3. Fallacy of False or Misleading Premise - argues on the basis of premises known to be false or
half-truths.

Fallacies of Relevance - evidence is of the wrong kind in order to establish a conclusion.

1. Argumentum ad Vericundiam (Appealto lnappropriate Authority/Appeal to General

Eminence/Appeal to a Famous Person)
2. Argumentum ad Baculum {Appealto Force)
3. Argumentum ad Misericordiam (Appealto Pity)
4. Argumenturn ad Populurn (Appealto Popular Sentiment)
5. Argumentum ad Hominem (Argument Against the Person)
a- Abusive (Appealto PersonalitylPoisoningthe Well) -attack on the person's personality.
b. Circumstantial Argument Against the Person - the circumstance of the person's life are
such that he/she could be o<pected to hdd exactly those views.
c. Tu Quoque or "You-Too Argument" - attempt to defend one's self by making a counter-
charge against the accuser.
6. Genetic Fallacy similarto Argumentum ad Hominem but here the sourcte is not identifiable with
the person.
7 - Argumentum ad lgnorantiam - a statement is true because it cannot be proven false and vice-
versa.
8. Petitio Principii (Begging the Question) - when a given statement is offered as evidence that the
very statement is true.
9. Complex Question - asking a question in such a way that if one answers the question as stated,
one is at least assenting to (or dissenting from) at least one statement assumed by the question.
10. False Cause - when A is identified to cause B with insufficient grounds to justify the causal
relationship.
a. Post Hoc Fallacy - from post hoc ego propter hoc (after this, therefore, before this);
consists in arguing that A is the cause of B solely because A occurred before B
b. Simple Correlation - mistaken for causal relationship (e.g. divorce among counselling
psychologists)
11. lgnoratio Elenchi (Fallacy of lrrelevant Conclusions/Red Herring Fallacy)- an argument
presented supports a conclusion different from the conclusion actually stated.
12. Straw-Man Fallary - a) one misrepresents the position that one wishes to oppose ad b) one
attacks the misrepresented position as if it were the real position one wishes to oppose
 13. Accident -one applies a general rule to exceptional cases.
14. Converse Accident - applying the rule which is true for exceptional cases to non-exceptional
cases within a class.
15. Arithmetical Fallacy - applying rules of arithmetic to practical situations without qualifications.
15. Black or White Fallacy (Fallacy of False Dilemma) - one assurnes that there are only two contrary
alternatives available, ignoring the possibility of other ahernatives between contraries.

Fallacies of Ambiguity - intended meaning is not dear.

1. Fallacy of Accent - false conclusion due to misplaced accent

2. Fallacy of Amphiboly (Syntactic Ambiguity)- rneaning of word is indeterminate because of the
loose or awkward way by which its words are combined.
3. Fallacy of Composition treating distributed characteristics as if it were collective.
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4. Fallacy of Division
-treating a collective attribute distributively.
5. Fallacy of Equivocation - given word or phrase may have more than one meaning.