click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Fallacies
a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Non sequitur | a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement. |
| False dichotomy | A false dilemma is a type of informal fallacy that involves a situation in which limited alternatives are considered, when in fact there is at least one additional option. |
| Hasty generalization | faulty generalization by reaching an inductive generalization based on insufficient evidence—essentially making a hasty conclusion without considering all of the variables |
| Stereotype | a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. |
| False analogy | faulty instance of the argument from analogy. |
| Post hoc, ergo propter | occurring or done after the event. |
| straw man | a person compared to a straw image; a sham |
| Red Herring | something (a clue) that is or is intended to be misleading or distracting |
| misleading statistics | A misuse of statistics occurs when a statistical argument asserts a falsehood, may be accidental can be purposeful |
| slippery slope | relatively small first step that leads to a chain of related events culminating in some significant effect |
| circular reasoning | logical fallacy in which "the reasoner begins with what he or she is trying to end up with" |
| ad hominem | general category of fallacies in which a claim or argument is rejected on the basis of some irrelevant fact about the author of or the person presenting the claim or argument |
| begging the question | an informal fallacy where the conclusion that one is attempting to prove is included in the initial premises of an argument, often in an indirect way that conceals this fact |