fallacy 1
Switching argument from issue at hand to the character of the other speaker
(Ad hominem)
correlation does not imply causation, incorrect to claim that something is a cause just because it happened earlier, few things have only one cause
(post hoc ergo propter hoc)
speaker uses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example to ridicule an opponent’s viewpoint
(straw man)
Smoking isn’t bad for you; my great aunt smoked a pack a day and lived to be 90.
Fallacies of insufficiency
speaker skips to new and irrelevant topic to avoid topic of discussion, changing the subject
(Red herring)
When the speaker presents 2 extreme options as the only possible choices
(either/or fallacy, or false dilemma)
When there’s not enough evidence
(Fallacies of insufficiency)
My friends play video games all night, so it’s alright.
bandwagon appeal-ad populum
Everybody’s doing it so it must be a good thing
(bandwagon appeal-ad populum)
When 2 things are not comparable, irrelevant or inconsequential similarities
(faulty analogy)
Repeating the claim as a way to provide evidence
(circular reasoning)
To argue that because we put animals who are in irreversible pain out of their misery, we should do the same for people, asks the reader to ignore significant and profound differences between animals and people.
faulty analogy
When someone who has no expertise to speak on an issue is cited as an authority
(appeal to false authority)
You argue that a park in your community should not be renovated because the person supporting it was arrested during a domestic dispute.
(Ad hominem)
We elected Johnson as president and look where it got us: hurricanes, floods, stock market crashes.
(post hoc ergo propter hoc)
You can’t give me a C; I’m an A student!
circular reasoning
Politician X proposes that we put astronauts on Mars in the next four years. Politician Y ridicules this proposal by saying that his opponent is looking for “little green men in outer space.”
(straw man)
If Politician X says, “We can debate these regulations until the cows come home, but what the American people want to know is, when are we going to end this partisan bickering?”
(Red herring)
Either we agree to higher taxes, or our grandchildren will be mired in debt.
either/or fallacy, or false dilemma
A TV star, for instance, is not a medical expert, even though pharmaceutical advertisements often use celebrity endorsements.
appeal to false authority