Example Sentences
James, being accused of telling a lie in his speech for class president, instead answered by saying their opponent had lied many times beforehand as well.
Tu Quoque
Misinterpreting someone's argument to make it easier to attack.
Strawman
Believing that because something was poorly argued or a fallacy makes the claim in and of itself wrong.
Fallacy Fallacy
"We're human beings and the sun is the sun — how can it be bad for you? I think we should all get sun and fresh air. I don't think anything that is natural can be bad for you." -Gwyneth Paltrow
Appeal to Nature
Ad Hominem
Attacking the personal traits of someone or their character to undermine their argument.
If we don't fund the new development of a coal mine, consider all the miners who won't be able to feed their children.
Appeal to Emotion
Appealing to popularity or that many people do something as a form of it being valid.
Bandwagon
Judging something as good or bad based on where it came from.
Genetic.
When asked about the fat content of their yogurt, the marketer said, "It was eighty percent fat free."
Ambiguity
Tu Quoque
Answering criticism with criticism
Burden of Proof
Claiming that a middle point between two extremes must be the truth.
Middle Ground
Saying that showing proof is not in the person making the claim, but for someone else to disprove it instead.
Burden of Proof
The student was told by their parents that if they get an A+, they'll be a success, and anything below that will be considered a failure.
Black & White Fallacy
No True Scotsman
Appealing to purity as a way to dismiss relevant criticism of the argument.
If we allow the sale of produce to other towns, what will we sell next: our clothes, our animals, our land, our families, even ourselves?
Slippery Slope
Saying that an authority said it was true, therefore it must be true.
Appeal to Authority.
Using a personal experience or an isolated instance instead of providing a sound argument or compelling evidence.
Anectodal
A proclaimed psychic was brought in to demonstrate their ability to move objects with their mind and was told to move a page in a book that they could not. However, after placing feathers around the book, they were unable to move the page, claiming there was psychic interference with the feathers, which prevented them from moving the page.
Special Pleading
Begging the Question
A circular argument where the conclusion was in the premise.
Having heard that Jackson made an error in their argument by using the anecdotally fallacy, Rebecca claimed that Jackson's argument couldn't be correct if he had allowed a fallacy to be present in his argument.
Fallacy Fallacy
Cherry picking data to suit your argument, or finding a pattern to fit a presumption.
Texas Sharpshooter
Asking a question with a presumption built into it, so that it couldn't be answered without appearing guilty.
Loaded Question
Examining the data, it was observed that the temperature was rising at the same time as the sales of mattresses were decreasing. As such, to lower the temperature, we must buy more mattresses.
False Cause
Composition/Division
Assuming that one part of something must be applied to all parts, or the whole must apply to all parts.