Term | Definition |
Strawman | A sham argument set up to be defeated.
(When the person committing the fallacy sets up a faulty/distorted opposing argument and refutes it; the conclusion is flawed because the argument was not represented correctly.) |
Special Pleading | When someone declares themselves an exception to the rules when they are, in fact, not; citing a partially related reason or 'special case' gives the appearance of an argument. |
Loaded Question | A false, disputed, or question-begging presupposition; answering simply 'Yes' or 'No' affirms the presupposition. |
Equivocation | When a word/term/phrase changes meaning in an argument. |
Misuse of Analogy | When an analogy has more differences than similarities, it is a false/flawed analogy. |
Circular Reasoning (Begging the Question) | When the argument's conclusion is used in the argument to prove the conclusion. |
Is/Ought Fallacy | When the assumption is made that because things are (or are not) a certain way, they should always (or never) be that way. "Because it is, it ought to be." |
Reductive Fallacy (reductio ad absurdum) | Refuting an opponent's claim by extending the logic of the opponent's argument to a point of absurdity. |
Chronological Snobbery | The uncritical acceptance of current thought and the assumption that whatever is not in line with current thinking is not credible. |
Argument to the Man (Ad Hominem) | When a claim or argument is rejected on the basis of (or countered with) some irrelevant fact about the person presenting (or the author of) the claim or argument. |
Appeal to the People (argumentum ad populum) | A fallacious argument that concludes that a proposition is true because many or most people believe it. |
Appeal to Ignorance | The conclusion must be true, because there is no evidence against it.
(Or, the conclusion must be false, because there is no evidence proving it.) |
Fallacy of Extension (Straw Man's fraternal twin ;P) | In order to counter an opponent's argument, an exaggerated, extreme caricature form of it is presented to demonstrate its weaknesses; the weaknesses are so magnified that it no longer resembles the original proposal. |
Emotional Language | Language used to provoke emotional responses in lieu of solid arguments. |
Prestige Jargon | Language that is used by a prestigious profession or group, which is difficult for others to understand. |