Logical Fallacies I
Personal attack. Attacks person rather than idea/issue.
Ad Hominem
Based on the assumption that the opinion of the majority is always valid.
Ad Populum/Bandwagon
You are very, very, very, very pretty
Repetition
Carl is like a monster when he gets up from bed VS Carl is a monster when he gets up from bed.
Carl is like a monster is a simile since it uses "like" and compares Carl to a monster. Carl is a monster is a metaphor since it compares Carl to a monster without "like" or "as."
Considered together, the three rhetorical appeals form what later rhetoricians have called:
Rhetorical Triangle
The string of events leading to a negative end result is caused by the first event.
Slippery Slope/ Bandwagon
A diversion tactic that leads people away from the key or real issues.
Red Herring
Water is wet. Water is good. Water is life.
Anaphora
He has an Achilles Heal, but I'm not sure what it is yet!
Allusion
Relies on feelings and emotions to persuade.
Pathos
I once got bit by a pit bull, so all pit bulls must be aggressive.
Hasty Generalization
Assuming that an incident that precedes another is the cause of the second
Post Hoc
Literary device that involves repeating a word or phrase at the end of a clause or sentence and at the beginning of the next.
Ex. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering
Anadiplosis
Repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases.
Ex."And I am whatever you say I am. If I wasn't, then why would I say I am? In the paper, the news, everyday I am"
Epistrophe
Relies on logic, information, and stats to persuade
Logos
lkaline water is healthy because it results in health benefits, and it has health benefits because it is healthy
Circular Reasoning
Lloyd: Can you allow time for more class discussion?
Prof. Schwartz: Oh, obviously you're saying that you and the entire class hasn't studied and now you want to talk to each other to get answers and cheat!
Strawman
Act or instance of placing two elements close together or side by side for dramatic effect of compare/contrast.
Juxtaposition
A euphemism is a polite or mild way of saying something that might be unpleasant or offensive.
Example: He is in his "golden years" vs. he is "old."
Euphemism
Relies on a person's credibility, trustworthiness, reliability, and who they may know to persuade.
Ethos
Both apples and strawberries are red. Since they are both red and are fruit, then all fruit must be red.
False Analogy
When a key term or phrase in an argument is used in an ambiguous way, with one meaning in one portion of the argument and then another meaning in another portion of the argument/ambiguity of words or the use of zeugma.
Example: A driver who gets pulled over tells the officer that they drank only a few beers when in reality they had a few beers plus two mixed drinks.
Equivocation
Involves using conjunctions like "and", "but", or "or" repeatedly in a sentence.
Example: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds".
Polysyndeton
Statement or situation that seems to contradict itself or go against common sense.
Example: "You have to spend money to make money"
Paradox
Rhetoric is defines as elements of ____________________ and _____________________.
argument and persuasion.