Logical Fallacies

1. Strawman
1. Misrepresenting someone's argument to make it easier to attack.
2. Caroline says that she thinks her friends should not be so rude to the new girl. Jenna says
that she cannot believe that Caroline is choosing to be better friends with the new girl than the
girls who have always known her.
2. False Cause
1. Presuming that a real or perceived relationship between things means that one is the
cause of the other.
2. Sarah ignores an email that says she should forward it or she will be unlucky. On the way
home that day she has a flat tire. She wishes she had sent the email.
3. Slippery Slope
1. Asserting that if we allow A to happen, then Z will consequently happen too, therefore A
should not happen.
2. If we give in every time our baby cries, he will always pitch a fit to get what he wants, and
he will end up in prison because we never set limits.
4. Ad Hominem
1. Attacking your opponent's character or personal traits in an attempt to undermine their
argument.
2. Donald Trump making fun of a woman for her beliefs when she is representing a women's
rights movement.
5. Special Pleading
1. Moving the goalposts or making up exceptions when a claim is shown to be false.
2. Everyone should be patient and wait his or her turn in line. However, I need to go to the
front because I have some place to be.
6. Loaded Question
1. Asking a question that has an assumption built into it so that it can't be answered without
appearing guilty.
2. How many school shootings should we tolerate before we change the gun laws?
7. The Gambler's Fallacy
 1. Believing that 'runs' occur to statistically independent phenomenon such as roulette wheel
spins.
2. Kevin has won the last five hands in the poker game. Chad thinks that there is no way that
Kevin has another good hand, so he bets everything against Kevin.
8. Bandwagon
1. Appealing to popularity or the fact that many people do something as an attempted form
of validation.
2. The US created McDonald's and it was popular in the western region so other countries in
Europe decided to make the same restaurant
9. Black-or-White
1. Where two alternative states are presented as the only possibilities, when in fact more
possibilities exist.
2. You're either Republican or Democrat
10. Begging The Question
1. A circular argument in which the conclusion is included in the premise.
2. Doing drugs is wrong, so using any kind of drug medication is wrong
11. Appeal To Authority
1. Saying that because an authority thinks something, it must therefore be true.
2. A commercial claims that 3 out of 4 dentist would choose a particular brand of toothpaste
for their families to use.
12. Appeal To Nature
1. Making the argument that because something is 'natural' it is therefore valid, justified,
inevitable, good, or ideal.
2. Herbal medicine is natural, so it's good for you.
13. Composition/Division
1. Assuming that what's true about one part of something has to be applied to all, or other,
parts of it.
2. Hydrogen is not wet and oxygen is not wet, therefore water, H2O, is not wet.
14. Anecdotal
1. Using personal experience or an isolated example instead of a valid argument, especially
to dismiss statistics.
 2. Stephanie thinks smoking does not affect life expectancy since her great grandfather
smoked since he was 13 and lived to be 101.
15. Appeal To Emotion
1. Manipulating an emotional response in place of a valid or compelling argument.
2. Boyfriend: I want to hang out with my friends tonight.
Girlfriend: You can't!
Boyfriend: Why not?
Girlfriend: Because you hanging out with your friends instead of with me would hurt my
feelings.
16. The Fallacy Fallacy
1. Presuming a claim to be necessarily wrong because a fallacy has been committed.
2. Whenever it rains the sky is cloudy. The sky is cloudy now so it must be raining.
17. Tu Quoque
1. Avoiding having to engage with criticism by turning it back on the accuser-answering
criticism with criticism.
2. A pot calling the kettle black
18. Personal Incredulity
1. Saying that because one finds something difficult to understand, it's therefore not true.
2. I don't see how vaccines can be safe for children. The only reason doctors push for
vaccination is because they get paid to do it by big pharma companies.
19. Burden Of Proof
1. Saying that the burden of proof lies not with the person making the claim, but with
someone else to disprove.
2. Lisa believes in ghosts. Mark tells her that there is no evidence that ghosts exist. Lisa tells
Mark that there is no evidence that they don't.
20. Ambiguity
1. Using double meanings or ambiguities of language to mislead or misrepresent the truth.
2. Bill Clinton stating, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky."
21. No True Scotsman
 1. Making what could be called to appeal to purity as a way to dismiss relevant criticisms or
flaws of an argument.
2. Micheal doesn't drink alcohol. No real man avoids alcohol so Michael isn't a real man.
22. Genetic
1. Judging something good or bad on the basis of where it comes from, or from whom it
comes.
2. I believe in monsters under the bed because my big sister told me unless I do whatever she
says, the monsters under the bed will eat me.
23. The Texas Sharpshooter
1. Cherry-picking data clusters to suit an argument, or finding a pattern to fit a presumption.
2. Match.com determined that Vanessa and John are a great match because they both like
Chinese food, movies, sports, Post Malone, and vote Democrat.
24. Middle Ground
1. Saying that a compromise, or middle point, between two extremes must be the truth.
2. Sam believes his sister Tina should always wash the dishes and he should always cut the
grass. Tina believes that she should always cut the grass and Sam should always wash the
dishes. The only solution is for them to alternate the two chores.