fallacies of relevance
Clue: An argument that makes people agree by scaring them or threatening them instead of using logic.
Answer: Argumentum ad Baculum (Appeal to Force)
Clue: “If we allow phones in class, then students will stop studying, then fail school, then become homeless.”
Answer: Slippery Slope
Clue: “You still beating your brother?”
Answer: Complex Question
Clue: A speaker misrepresents a nuanced position into a weaker categorical extreme and refutes only the exaggerated reconstruction.
Answer: Straw Man
Clue: “Everyone supports this policy, so it must be right.”
Answer: Argumentum ad Populum (Appeal to Populace)
Clue: “I met two rude people from Country X, so everyone from there is rude.”
Answer: Hasty Generalization
Clue: Applying a rule too broadly: “Exercise is good, so you should jog even with pneumonia.”
Answer: Accident
Clue: During a debate, one side claims the opponent’s argument is invalid because the opponent benefits personally from being wrong.
Answer: Circumstantial Ad Hominem
Clue: “You should accept my argument because I feel sad about my situation.”
Answer: Argumentum ad Misericordiam (Appeal to Pity)
Clue: “I wore my lucky socks and passed the exam, so the socks caused it.”
Answer: False Cause (Post Hoc)
Clue: “We must believe it because it is true, and it is true because we believe it.”
Answer: Begging the Question (Circular Reasoning)
Clue: A conclusion is reached that does not logically follow from its premises, even though the premises may be true.
Answer: Non Sequitur
Clue: Attacking someone’s personality instead of responding to their argument.
Answer: Ad Hominem
Clue: Believing a claim because a famous celebrity said it, even if they aren’t an expert.
Answer: Argumentum ad Verecundiam (False Authority)
Clue: “You can either support this law or you hate your country.”
Answer: False Dichotomy
Clue: An argument dismisses a claim by attacking the speaker’s character, but the character trait has no bearing on the claim’s validity.
Answer: Abusive Ad Hominem
Clue: Changing the topic to something unrelated to avoid the main issue.
Answer: Red Herring
Clue: “No one has proven ghosts don’t exist, so they must exist.”
Answer: Argumentum ad Ignorantiam (Appeal to Ignorance)
Clue: Assuming a small group represents the whole population without enough evidence.
Answer: Hasty Generalization (can also overlap, but in presumption sets it’s often used this way depending on curriculum framing)
Clue: A hypothesis is treated as confirmed solely because no counterexample has yet survived attempted refutation under current epistemic limits.
Answer: Argumentum ad Ignorantiam