Argument Forms
If A, then B
A
Therefore, B
Modus Ponens
You spend most of your time in your room reading books. When I was your age, I played all types of sports. So, if you don’t start joining some teams, then I won’t give you any more money to buy books, and I’ll tear up your library card.
Appeal to Fear or Force
My aunt just stopped eating meat, and now she is lecturing everyone to give it up. She cites all this stuff from medical journals and other scientific research showing the harmful long-term effects of eating red meat. But she ate red meat most of her life, so why should I listen to her?
Tu Quoque
That ambulance didn’t even stop for the red light. It went zooming right through! And the police didn’t even give the driver a citation. If I did that, I would get a citation. Life just isn’t fair.
Rigid Application of a Generalization
What is the information content imparted by a statement (its meaning) called?
A Proposition
If A, Then B
Not B
Therefore, not A
Modus Tollens
My uncle drinks a six-pack of beer a day, so I couldn’t believe it when he lectured me on the dangers of alcohol. He’s one to talk! Nothing he says about drinking can be true because he cannot stop drinking himself.
Tu Quoque
I don’t recommend that you eat at that restaurant. I did not like the breakfast I had there last week. I’m sure that all of their meals are of poor quality.
Hasty Generalization
All it takes is one. If you throw your empty can on the sidewalk, then someone else will either see you do it or else think it is okay. Especially kids. Pretty soon people will throw glass and plastic bottles. Then there will be all kinds of trash. The sanitation department will not be able to keep up with the level of garbage in the streets. The rat population will grow, and when that happens, bubonic plague will not be far behind.
Slippery Slope
What type of question makes an implied statement?
A Rhetorical Question
A or B
Not A
Therefore, B
Disjunctive Syllogism
My opponent says that he is well qualified for city council. But he failed to tell you that he was arrested twice. Once for protesting the war in Iraq, and once during the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. It is obvious that he hates our country and is a liar. I urge you, therefore, to reject his candidacy.
Ad Hominem Abusive
In that newspaper article, she argued that the works of Charles Darwin caused the world’s major religions to reconcile their basic beliefs with the results of science. Of course, she would say that. After all, she teaches biology, so she must be an atheist.
Ad Hominem Circumstantial
On two different occasions when I missed a class the instructor gave a surprise quiz. That proves the instructor gave the quiz just because he saw that I was absent.
Post Hoc
A proposition cannot be true and false at the same time and in the same sense.
Law of Non-Contradiction
If A, then B
If B, Then C
Therefore, if A, then C
Hypothetical Syllogism
Maybe you didn’t know that she is an orphan. Her outrageous behavior should be excused because of her background.
Appeal to Pity
There were six cases of food poisoning from undercooked burgers at that chain of fast-food restaurants. This caused the company to change its method of cooking burgers.
No Fallacy
A veterinarian found that 70% of the German shepherd dogs she examined had a hip displacement before they reached 10 years of age. Given this, probably 70% of all dogs will have a hip displacement before they reach 10 years of age.
Biased Sample
What is an argument where assuming the truth of the premises guarantees the truth of the conclusion?
A Valid Deductive Arguement
If A, Then B
Not A
Therefore, not B
Denying the Antecedent
In the past 3 months, you missed work without calling in five times, and each time you couldn’t produce a doctor’s note. On two occasions in 1 week, you left work early without notifying your supervisor. You fell asleep at your desk and missed two important calls from clients. Given this poor record, we have decided to let you go.
No Fallacy
Each grain of sand is hard, so your sand castle will be hard.
Composition
I read that cars in the United States consume more gasoline each year than trucks. I guess that means that my car uses more gasoline each year than that tractor trailer over there.
Division
What is an argument where if the premises are assumed to be true, then the conclusion is probably true?
A Strong Inductive Argument