Question | Answer | |
fallacy | statements that are logically false, but which appear to be true. basically, an error in reasoning | |
tu quoque (you're another) | avoid the real argument by making similar charges against the opponent | How can the police ticket me for speeding? I see cops speeding all the time |
appeal to the people | uses the views of the majority as a persuasive device, very similar to bandwagon | of course you want to buy Zest toothpaste. why, 90% of America brushes with Zest! |
slippery slope | one step will lead to more.while sometimes the results may be negative,this argues that the descent is inevitable and unalterabl | if we ban hummers b/c they are bad for the environment, eventually the gov. will ban all cars,so we should not ban hummers |
scare tactic | creates fear in people as evidence to support a claim. mostly this is done by some form of threat | if you vote for this candidate, then your childrens lives will be at stake |
red herring | irrelevant topic moves attention away from original issue. topic A is under discussion. topic B is introduced and unrelated. topic A is abandoned | what about christmas? well my aunt is coming next week |
traditional wisdom | when it is assumed that something is better or correct because it is tradional or has always been done | theory that witches cause disease is older than theory that microorganisms cause diseas therefore, theory about witches must be true |
gamblers fallacy | assuming that short-term change from probability will be corrected in short-term.past series of results has no effect on probability of various possible outcomes of next coin toss | coin landed heads-up 9x in a row, it will probably land tails-up next toss |
false cause | wrongly assumes a cause-and-effect relationship, A causes B without proof that a relationship actually exists | christians believe in god, muslims believe in god, therefore christians are muslims |
ad hominem | when the person presenting argument is attacked instead of the argument its self. against the person | i think that the US will come out of the recession quickly... what do you know about economics? you don't even have a job! |
hasty generalization | draws a conclusion about a population based on a small sample. jumping to conclusions. | i met some college students who were polite. therefore, all college students must be well-behaved |
bandwagon | creates the impression that everybody is doing it and so should you | you're not cool unless you wear this brand of clothing |
appeal to emotions | when something is associated with good/mad feelings then it must be true/wrong | commercials ask for money to help remove animals from abusive homes, show cute puppies and kittens |
false dilemma | either A or B is true. C is not an option. based on assumption that the choices offered are the only choices | either you are with me or against me |