Definitions
attack that distract from an argument by focusing on the one making the argument, trying to damage his or her credibility.
What is ad hominem?
also known as false dilemma/dichotomy, occurs when one presents only two options in an argument when there are, in fact, many more options.
What is either/or reasoning?
An appeal to emotions
What is Pathos?
“I think we need to get rid of standardized testing in junior high and high school, at least in its current form.”
“That’s terrible! I can’t believe you don’t want any standards for students. You just want education to get even worse!”
An advertisement plays sad music over sad images
What is appeal to emotions?
Also known as an appeal to hypocrisy, this fallacy translates from the Latin as “you, too.”
What is Tu Quoque?
This attack embeds a hidden premise in the question, so anyone who responds is forced to accept that premise.
What is a loaded question?
establishes credibility
What is ethos?
“So, are you a dog person or a cat person? Are you a Beatles person or a Rolling Stones person? You can be only one!”
What is either/or reasoning?
Example: “So, when did you start practicing witchcraft?”
What is a loaded question?
An attack which suggests that a lack of understanding is a valid excuse for rejecting an idea.
What is an appeal to incredulity?
In Latin, this phrase means “after this, therefore, because of this,” which asserts that when one thing happens before another thing, the first must have caused the second.
What is post hoc?
examples of this include statistics, facts, evidence, etc.
What is logos?
Having one bad meal at a restaurant and then immediately concluding that all meals from that restaurant will be just as bad.
What is a hasty generalization?
asserts that two ideas or groups or items or experiences are of equal type, standing, and quality when they are not.
This attack derives its conclusion from too little information, evidence, or reason.
What is hasty generalization?
This attack claims that the first link in a causal chain will inevitably end in the most disastrous result possible, thus working to scare the audience away from the initial idea altogether.
What is slippery slope?
The event that prompts the use of rhetoric
What is the rhetorical situation?
“There is no proof that Joe the Politician conspired with the Canadians to rig the elections.”
“A-ha! That there is nothing to find is proof that he did! He must have paid off everyone involved to bury the evidence.”
What is arguing from silence or ignorance?
This is the inverse of the hasty generalization. Instead of making a conclusion from little evidence, this applies a general rule to a specific situation without providing proper evidence, without demonstrating that the rule even applies, or without providing for exceptions.
What is sweeping generalization?
Like the burden of proof fallacy, this one occurs when the author, either implicitly or explicitly, uses a lack of evidence as a type of proof. (hint, many conspiracy theories rely on this).
This attack involves taking a potentially reasonable argument and misrepresenting it, usually through scare tactics or oversimplification, i.e., by creating an argument that sounds similar to the original but in reality is not.
What is straw man?
a sense of timing (right time, right place)
What is kairos?
“Oh no, if I fail this test, my whole life is ruined!”
What is slippery slope?
This happens when an author uses terms that are abstract or complex—and, therefore, have multiple meanings or many layers to them—in an overly simple or misleading fashion or without bothering to define the particular use of that term.
What is equivocation?