Ethos Fallacies
asks the audience to agree with the speaker's assertion based on his/her character or the authority of another person
What is False Authority?
The appeal to pity takes place when an arguer tries to get people to accept a conclusion by making them feel sorry for someone
What is Appeal to Pity?
draws conclusions from minimal evidence
What is Faulty Generalization?
"Tens of thousands of Americans have seen lights in the night sky which they could not identify. The existence of like on other planets is fast becoming certainty!"
What is Non Sequitur?
Speaker A: "We need to regulate access to handguns"
Speaker B: "My opponent believes that we should ignore the rights guaranteed to us as citizens of the United States by the Constitution. Unlike my opponent, I am a firm believer in the Constitution, and a proponent of freedom"
What is Strawman?
calls someone's character into question by examining the character of that person's associates
What is Guilt by Association?
These try to frighten people into agreeing with the arguer by threatening them or predicting unrealistically dire consequences
What is Scare Tactics?
these arguments confuse chronology with causation, one event can occur without being caused by it
What is Post Hoc (False Causality)
"Eight out of ten people agree that Verizon offers better cell phone than AT&T. Therefore, you should switch to Verizon"
What is Bandwagon?
"I know the exam is graded based on performance, but you should give me an A. My cat has been sick, my car broke down, and I've had a cold, so it was really hard for me to study!"
What is Appeal to Pity?
What is Dogmatism?
encourages an audience to agree with the speaker because everyone else is doing it
What is Bandwagon
is a statement that doesn't logically follow or relate to what comes before it
What is Non Sequitur (It does not follow)?
"A year after the release of the violent shoot-'em up game Annihilator, incidents of violence tripled - surely not a coincidence"
What is Post Hoc (False causality)?
"That school building is in bad shape. Either we tear it down and start over or risk the students' safety!"
What is False Dichotomy (Either/Or)?
arguments that attack a person's character rather than their reasoning
What is Ad Hominem?
these arguments suggest that one thing will lead to another, often times with disastrous consequences
What is Slippery Slope?
when the speaker diverts the attention by changing the subject, distracting the audience
What is Red Herring?
"I'm sorry, but I think penguins are sea creatures and that's that"
What is Dogmatism?
"You absolutely have to have an iPad if you want to think you are cool"
What is False Need?
distorting an opposing position into an extreme version of itself and then arguing against that
What is Strawman?
these arguments create a need that doesn't really exist
What is False Need?
when the arguer sets up the situation as if there are only two choices. He then eliminates one choice, so it seems there's only one option left.
What is False Dichotomy (Either/Or)?
"Why should we think a candidate who recently divorced will keep his campaign promises?"
What is Ad Hominem?
"Sara's friend Amy robbed a bank; Sara is a delinquent"
What is Guilt by Association?