Mental Anti-Virus Card

Against the Man (Ad Hominem) Appeal to Authority (Ad Verecundiam) Appeal to Emotion Appeal to Force (Ad Baculum) Appeal to Ignorance (Ad Ignorantiam) Appeal to Pity (Ad Misericordiam) Appeal to the Masses (Ad Populum) Appeal to Ridicule Appeal to Tradition Composition Division False Alternative False Cause (Post Hoc) Hasty Generalization Middle Ground Red Herring Selective Evidence Slippery Slope Straw Man

Dismiss the arbitrary, remove contradictions, achieve more certainty.

The Top Fallacies

Attacking the speaker instead of his argument. Basing an argument on an irrelevant, vague or dubious authority. Persuading by emotion rather than reason. Persuading by coercion or threat. It must be true because it hasnt been proved false; or false because it hasnt be proved true. It must be true because boo hoo hoo. It must be true because its popular. It must be true because ha ha ha. It must be true because weve always done it that way. Whats true for the individual part of a whole is true for the entire whole form. Whats true for the entire whole form is true for each of its individual parts. Offering only two options while omitting other relevant, viable options. Establishing a causal relationship from correlation or timing, without sufficient proof. Generalizing from an unrepresentative sample. The extremes are wrong, but the middle (mean) is correct. Diverting an argument by changing the topic. Selectively omitting pertinent evidence. Asserting, without sufficient proof, a chain of events. Refuting an argument by attacking a weaker version of it.

Get more tools of intellectual self defense:

RHETORIC

NO

S ES

CO N

TRIVIUM

GRAMMAR

NON EST
ES T
SNESS
U IO SC
IOU SNE NSC SS CO

LOGIC

ES

TRUTH

ES
CONSC
IO U
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EDUCATION

NO

N ES