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APPEAL TO (DOUBTFUL) AUTHORITY
*The surgeon general warns that smoking is injurious to health. If the appeal is to an authority that is not appropriate, it is a
SNOB APPEAL
APPEAL TO FEAR
APPEAL TO PITY
BEGGING THE QUESTION
Assuming a statement is self-evident when it actually requires proof
Premise: Everything the Bible says is true. Premise: The Bible says Noah built an Ark.
Conclusion: Therefore, Noah’s Ark really existed.
“Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.” Woody Allen
“The reason I keep insisting there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda is because there was a relationship
CIRCULAR REASONING
A form of begging the question
Just repeating a statement in different terms
DOUBLE STANDARD
Judging and labeling the
same act differently,
EQUIVOCATION
When a term has one meaning in one part of the argument, and a different meaning in another part of the argument
Premise: All men are rational. Premise: No women are men.
Conclusion: Women aren’t rational.
FALSE ANALOGY
Comparing two things in which the key features are different
FALSE CAUSALITY (POST HOC)
Asserts that because two events occur closely in time, one event must cause the other
Appealing because if offers simple explanations for complex events
Many people don’t get flu shot because the last time they did, they got the flu.
Governor Robinson took office in 2006. In 2008, we had a severe recession. We should not reelect him.
FALSE DILEMMA / EITHER/ OR FALLACY
Asserting that there are two choices when there are actually more.
HASTY GENERALIZATION
Or Jumping to conclusions
Basing a conclusion on a sample that is too small or otherwise not representative of the whole population
“How could Bush have won the election? No one I know voted for him!”
College students all eat a lot of junk food.
PERSONAL ATTACK/ YOU ALSO
Attacking the person associated with the argument instead of the argument itself.
We shouldn’t believe anything that politician says about social security. He cheated on his wife!
You Also is similar. It asserts that a statement is false because the speaker has done the opposite.
How can you tell me not to smoke when you used to smoke?
POISONING THE WELL
Making an assertion that precludes discussion of the issue
Discredit the other person before they speak. Or discredit the topic or argument that they may support.
Every patriotic American supports legislation condemning the desecration of the flag.
So if I don’t, I’m not patriotic?
RED HERRING
Distraction from the issue at hand
Name come from fox hunting—fox hunters would drag a
smoked fish across the trail of a fox to mask its scent during a fox hunt
SLIPPERY SLOPE
Arguing that an action should be avoided because it will lead to other actions
The domino effect
“If we allow gay marriage, then there is nothing to stop
polygamy. And once we allow this, when will it stop? Will we have to legalize incest? Will people be able to marry their pets?”
STRAW MAN
Creates and then attacks a distorted version of the opposition’s argument
“The candidate wants the govmt. to provide medical care for everyone. And he will take 50% of your income to do so.” This ignores the fact that the candidate said she would cut
MISUSE OF STATISTICS
In 2009 and 2010, Reebok made the following claims about its EasyTone and RunTone shoes: Lab tests “proved” that the shoes work “your hamstrings and calves up to 11% harder and tone your butt up to 28% more than regular sneakers … just by walking!” IFTC investigated, found it wasn’t true and refunded customers $25 million.
“70 cents of every dollar spent on food stamps goes to bureaucrats” Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) (2013)
Bachmann claimed that as far as the food stamp program is concerned, only $3 out of $10 actually goes to the needy. The other $7 out of $10 goes to the bureaucrats who run the program. The actual figure, which can be found in
these budget documents, is one-third of 1 percent of the budget goes t o running the program
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