42

FALLACIES

Dr. Michael C. LaBossiere

For Free
FortyTwoFallacies(ForFree)
ByDr.MichaelC.LaBossiere,ontologist@aol.com

LegalInformation
Thisbookiscopyright20022010byDr.MichaelC.LaBossiere.Itmaybefreely
distributedforpersonaloreducationaluseprovidedthatitisnotmodifiedandnofee
abovethenormalcostofdistributionischargedforit.

FallaciesandArguments
Inordertounderstandwhatafallacyis,onemustunderstandwhatanargumentis.
Verybrieflyanargumentconsistsofoneormorepremisesandoneconclusion.A
premiseisastatement(asentencethatiseithertrueorfalse)thatisofferedinsupport
oftheclaimbeingmade,whichistheconclusion(whichisalsoasentencethatiseither
trueorfalse).
Therearetwomaintypesofarguments:deductiveandinductive.Adeductive
argumentisanargumentsuchthatthepremisesprovide(orappeartoprovide)
completesupportfortheconclusion.Aninductiveargumentisanargumentsuchthat
thepremisesprovide(orappeartoprovide)somedegreeofsupport(butlessthan
completesupport)fortheconclusion.Ifthepremisesactuallyprovidetherequired
degreeofsupportfortheconclusion,thentheargumentisagoodone.Agood
deductiveargumentisknownasavalidargumentandissuchthatifallitspremisesare
true,thenitsconclusionmustbetrue.Ifalltheargumentisvalidandactuallyhasall
truepremises,thenitisknownasasoundargument.Ifitisinvalidorhasoneormore
falsepremises,itwillbeunsound.Agoodinductiveargumentisknownasastrong(or
cogent)inductiveargument.Itissuchthatifthepremisesaretrue,theconclusionis
likelytobetrue.
Afallacyis,verygenerally,anerrorinreasoning.Thisdiffersfromafactualerror,
whichissimplybeingwrongaboutthefacts.Tobemorespecific,afallacyisan
argumentinwhichthepremisesgivenfortheconclusiondonotprovidetheneeded
degreeofsupport.Adeductivefallacyisadeductiveargumentthatisinvalid(itissuch
thatitcouldhavealltruepremisesandstillhaveafalseconclusion).Aninductivefallacy
islessformalthanadeductivefallacy.Theyaresimplyargumentswhichappeartobe
inductivearguments,butthepremisesdonotprovidedenoughsupportforthe
conclusion.Insuchcases,evenifthepremisesweretrue,theconclusionwouldnotbe
morelikelytobetrue.

ExampleofaDeductiveArgument
Premise1:IfBillisacat,thenBillisamammal.
Premise2:Billisacat.
Conclusion:Billisamammal.

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ExampleofanInductiveArgument
Premise1:MostAmericancatsaredomestichousecats.
Premise2:BillisanAmericancat.
Conclusion:Billisdomestichousecat.

ExampleofaFactualError
ColumbusisthecapitaloftheUnitedStates.

ExampleofaDeductiveFallacy
Premise1:IfPortlandisthecapitalofMaine,thenitisinMaine.
Premise2:PortlandisinMaine.
Conclusion:PortlandisthecapitalofMaine.
(PortlandisinMaine,butAugustaisthecapital.PortlandisthelargestcityinMaine,
though.)

ExampleofanInductiveFallacy
Premise1:HavingjustarrivedinOhio,Isawawhitesquirrel.
Conclusion:AllOhiosquirrelsarewhite.
(Whiletherearemany,manysquirrelsinOhio,thewhiteonesareveryrare).

Fallacies
AdHominem
AlsoKnownas:AdHominemAbusive,PersonalAttack
Description:
TranslatedfromLatintoEnglish,adHominemmeansagainstthemanoragainst
theperson.
AnadHominemisageneralcategoryoffallaciesinwhichaclaimorargumentis
rejectedonthebasisofsomeirrelevantfactabouttheauthorofortheperson
presentingtheclaimorargument.Typically,thisfallacyinvolvestwosteps.First,an
attackagainstthecharacterofpersonmakingtheclaim,hercircumstances,orher
actionsismade(orthecharacter,circumstances,oractionsofthepersonreportingthe
claim).Second,thisattackistakentobeevidenceagainsttheclaimorargumentthe
personinquestionismaking(orpresenting).Thistypeofargumenthasthefollowing
form:

1.PersonAmakesclaimX.
2.PersonBmakesanattackonpersonA.
3.ThereforeAsclaimisfalse.

ThereasonwhyanadHominem(ofanykind)isafallacyisthatthecharacter,
circumstances,oractionsofapersondonot(inmostcases)haveabearingonthetruth
orfalsityoftheclaimbeingmade(orthequalityoftheargumentbeingmade).

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Example#1:
Bill:Ibelievethatabortionismorallywrong.
Dave:Ofcourseyouwouldsaythat,youreapriest.
Bill:WhatabouttheargumentsIgavetosupportmyposition?
Dave:Thosedontcount.LikeIsaid,youreapriest,soyouhavetosaythatabortionis
wrong.Further,youarejustalackeytothePope,soIcantbelievewhatyousay.

Example#2:
John:Sallywassayingthatpeopleshouldnthuntanimalsorkillthemforfoodor
clothing.Shealso
Wanda:Well,Sallyisasissycrybabywholovesanimalswaytoomuch.
John:So?
Wanda:Thatmeanssheiswrongaboutthatanimalstuff.Also,ifwewerentsupposed
toeatem,theywouldntbemadeofmeat.

AdHominemTuQuoque
AlsoKnownas:YouTooFallacy
Description:
Thisfallacyiscommittedwhenitisconcludedthatapersonsclaimisfalsebecause1)
itisinconsistentwithsomethingelseapersonhassaidor2)whatapersonsaysis
inconsistentwithheractions.Thistypeofargumenthasthefollowingform:

1.PersonAmakesclaimX.
2.PersonBassertsthatAsactionsorpastclaimsareinconsistentwiththetruthof
claimX.
3.ThereforeXisfalse.

Thefactthatapersonmakesinconsistentclaimsdoesnotmakeanyparticularclaim
hemakesfalse(althoughofanypairofinconsistentclaimsonlyonecanbetruebut
bothcanbefalse).Also,thefactthatapersonsclaimsarenotconsistentwithhis
actionsmightindicatethatthepersonisahypocritebutthisdoesnotprovehisclaims
arefalse.

Example#1:
Bill:Smokingisveryunhealthyandleadstoallsortsofproblems.Sotakemyadviceand
neverstart.
Jill:Well,Icertainlydontwanttogetcancer.
Bill:Imgoingtogetasmoke.WanttojoinmeDave?
Jill:Well,Iguesssmokingcantbethatbad.Afterall,Billsmokes.

Example#2:
Jill:Ithinktheguncontrolbillshouldntbesupportedbecauseitwontbeeffectiveand
willwastemoney.
Bill:Well,justlastmonthyousupportedthebill.SoIguessyourewrongnow.
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Example#3:
Peter:BasedontheargumentsIhavepresented,itisevidentthatitismorallywrongto
useanimalsforfoodorclothing.
Bill:Butyouarewearingaleatherjacketandyouhavearoastbeefsandwichinyour
hand!Howcanyousaythatusinganimalsforfoodandclothingiswrong!

AppealtotheConsequencesofaBelief
Description:
TheAppealtotheConsequencesofaBeliefisafallacythatcomesinthefollowing
patterns:

#1:XistruebecauseifpeopledidnotacceptXasbeingtrue,thentherewouldbe
negativeconsequences.

#2:XisfalsebecauseifpeopledidnotacceptXasbeingfalse,thentherewouldbe
negativeconsequences.

#3:XistruebecauseacceptingthatXistruehaspositiveconsequences.

#4:XisfalsebecauseacceptingthatXisfalsehaspositiveconsequences.

#5:IwishthatXweretrue,thereforeXistrue.ThisisknownasWishfulThinking.

#6:IwishthatXwerefalse,thereforeXisfalse.ThisisknownasWishfulThinking.

Thislineofreasoningisfallaciousbecausetheconsequencesofabeliefhaveno
bearingonwhetherthebeliefistrueorfalse.Forexample,ifsomeoneweretosayIf
sixteenheadedpurpleunicornsdontexist,thenIwouldbemiserable,sotheymust
exist,itwouldbeclearthatthiswouldnotbeagoodlineofreasoning.Itisimportant
tonotethattheconsequencesinquestionaretheconsequencesthatstemfromthe
belief.Itisimportanttodistinguishbetweenarationalreasontobelieve(RRB)
(evidence)andaprudentialreasontobelieve(PRB)(motivation).ARRBisevidencethat
objectivelyandlogicallysupportstheclaim.APRBisareasontoacceptthebelief
becauseofsomeexternalfactor(suchasfear,athreat,orabenefitorharmthatmay
stemfromthebelief)thatisrelevanttowhatapersonvaluesbutisnotrelevanttothe
truthorfalsityoftheclaim.
ThenatureofthefallacyisespeciallyclearinthecaseofWishfulthinking.Obviously,
merelywishingthatsomethingistruedoesnotmakeittrue.Thisfallacydiffersfromthe
AppealtoBelieffallacyinthattheAppealtoBeliefinvolvestakingaclaimthatmost
peoplebelievethatXistruetobeevidenceforXbeingtrue.

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Example#1:
Godmustexist!IfGoddidnotexist,thenallbasisformoralitywouldbelostandthe
worldwouldbeahorribleplace!

Example#2:
Itcanneverhappentome.IfIbelieveditcould,Icouldneversleepsoundlyatnight.

Example#3:
Idontthinkthattherewillbeanuclearwar.IfIbelievedthat,Iwouldntbeabletoget
upinthemorning.Imean,howdepressing.

Example#4:
IacknowledgethatIhavenoargumentfortheexistenceofGod.However,Ihaveagreat
desireforGodtoexistandfortheretobeanafterlife.ThereforeIacceptthatGod
exists.

AppealtoAuthority
AlsoKnownas:FallaciousAppealtoAuthority,MisuseofAuthority,Irrelevant
Authority,QuestionableAuthority,InappropriateAuthority,AdVerecundiam
Description:
AnAppealtoAuthorityisafallacywiththefollowingform:

1)PersonAis(claimedtobe)anauthorityonsubjectS.
2)PersonAmakesclaimCaboutsubjectS.
3)Therefore,Cistrue.

Thisfallacyiscommittedwhenthepersoninquestionisnotalegitimateauthorityon
thesubject.Moreformally,ifpersonAisnotqualifiedtomakereliableclaimsinsubject
S,thentheargumentwillbefallacious.
Thissortofreasoningisfallaciouswhenthepersoninquestionisnotanexpert.In
suchcasesthereasoningisflawedbecausethefactthatanunqualifiedpersonmakesa
claimdoesnotprovideanyjustificationfortheclaim.Theclaimcouldbetrue,butthe
factthatanunqualifiedpersonmadetheclaimdoesnotprovideanyrationalreasonto
accepttheclaimastrue.
Whenapersonfallspreytothisfallacy,theyareacceptingaclaimastruewithout
therebeingadequateevidencetodoso.Morespecifically,thepersonisacceptingthe
claimbecausetheyerroneouslybelievethatthepersonmakingtheclaimisalegitimate
expertandhencethattheclaimisreasonabletoaccept.Sincepeoplehaveatendency
tobelieveauthorities(andthereare,infact,goodreasonstoacceptsomeclaimsmade
byauthorities)thisfallacyisafairlycommonone.
Sincethissortofreasoningisfallaciousonlywhenthepersonisnotalegitimate
authorityinaparticularcontext,itisnecessarytoprovidesomeacceptablestandardsof
assessment.Thefollowingstandardsarewidelyaccepted:

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1.Thepersonhassufficientexpertiseinthesubjectmatterinquestion.
Claimsmadebyapersonwholackstheneededdegreeofexpertisetomakeareliable
claimwill,obviously,notbewellsupported.Incontrast,claimsmadebyapersonwith
theneededdegreeofexpertisewillbesupportedbythepersonsreliabilityinthearea.
Determiningwhetherornotapersonhastheneededdegreeofexpertisecanoftenbe
verydifficult.Inacademicfields(suchasphilosophy,engineering,history,etc.),the
personsformaleducation,academicperformance,publications,membershipin
professionalsocieties,paperspresented,awardswonandsoforthcanallbereliable
indicatorsofexpertise.Outsideofacademicfields,otherstandardswillapply.For
example,havingsufficientexpertisetomakeareliableclaimabouthowtotieashoe
laceonlyrequirestheabilitytotietheshoelaceandimpartthatinformationtoothers.
Itshouldbenotedthatbeinganexpertdoesnotalwaysrequirehavingauniversity
degree.Manypeoplehavehighdegreesofexpertiseinsophisticatedsubjectswithout
havingeverattendedauniversity.Further,itshouldnotbesimplyassumedthata
personwithadegreeisanexpert.
Ofcourse,whatisrequiredtobeanexpertisoftenamatterofgreatdebate.For
example,somepeoplehave(anddo)claimexpertiseincertain(evenall)areasbecause
ofadivineinspirationoraspecialgift.Thefollowersofsuchpeopleacceptsuch
credentialsasestablishingthepersonsexpertisewhileothersoftenseetheseself
proclaimedexpertsasdeludedorevenascharlatans.Inothersituations,peopledebate
overwhatsortofeducationandexperienceisneededtobeanexpert.Thus,whatone
personmaytaketobeafallaciousappealanotherpersonmighttaketobeawell
supportedlineofreasoning.Fortunately,manycasesdonotinvolvesuchdebate.

2.Theclaimbeingmadebythepersoniswithinherarea(s)ofexpertise.
Ifapersonmakesaclaimaboutsomesubjectoutsideofhisarea(s)ofexpertise,then
thepersonisnotanexpertinthatcontext.Hence,theclaiminquestionisnotbackedby
therequireddegreeofexpertiseandisnotreliable.
Itisveryimportanttorememberthatbecauseofthevastscopeofhumanknowledge
andskillitissimplynotpossibleforonepersontobeanexpertoneverything.Hence,
expertswillonlybetrueexpertsinrespecttocertainsubjectareas.Inmostotherareas
theywillhavelittleornoexpertise.Thus,itisimportanttodeterminewhatsubjectarea
aclaimfallsunder.
Itisalsoveryimportanttonotethatexpertiseinoneareadoesnotautomatically
conferexpertiseinanother.Forexample,beinganexpertphysicistdoesnot
automaticallymakeapersonanexpertonmoralityorpolitics.Unfortunately,thisis
oftenoverlookedorintentionallyignored.Infact,agreatdealofadvertisingrestsona
violationofthiscondition.Asanyonewhowatchestelevisionknows,itisextremely
commontogetfamousactorsandsportsheroestoendorseproductsthattheyarenot
qualifiedtoassess.Forexample,apersonmaybeagreatactor,butthatdoesnot
automaticallymakehimanexpertoncarsorshavingorunderwearordietsorpolitics.

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3.Thereisanadequatedegreeofagreementamongtheotherexpertsinthesubjectin
question.
Ifthereisasignificantamountoflegitimatedisputeamongtheexpertswithina
subject,thenitwillfallacioustomakeanAppealtoAuthorityusingthedisputing
experts.Thisisbecauseforalmostanyclaimbeingmadeandsupportedbyoneexpert
therewillbeacounterclaimthatismadeandsupportedbyanotherexpert.Insuch
casesanAppealtoAuthoritywouldtendtobefutile.Insuchcases,thedisputehastobe
settledbyconsiderationoftheactualissuesunderdispute.Sinceeithersideinsucha
disputecaninvokeexperts,thedisputecannotberationallysettledbyAppealsto
Authority.
Therearemanyfieldsinwhichthereisasignificantamountoflegitimatedispute.
Economicsisagoodexampleofsuchadisputedfield.Anyonewhoisfamiliarwith
economicsknowsthattherearemanyplausibletheoriesthatareincompatiblewithone
another.Becauseofthis,oneexperteconomistcouldsincerelyclaimthatthedeficitis
thekeyfactorwhileanotherequallyqualifiedindividualcouldasserttheexactopposite.
Anotherareawheredisputeisverycommon(andwellknown)isintheareaof
psychologyandpsychiatry.Ashasbeendemonstratedinvarioustrials,itispossibleto
findoneexpertthatwillassertthatanindividualisinsaneandnotcompetenttostand
trialandtofindanotherequallyqualifiedexpertwhowilltestify,underoath,thatthe
sameindividualisbothsaneandcompetenttostandtrial.Obviously,onecannotrelyon
anAppealtoAuthorityinsuchasituationwithoutmakingafallaciousargument.Such
anargumentwouldbefallacioussincetheevidencewouldnotwarrantacceptingthe
conclusion.
Itisimportanttokeepinmindthatnofieldhascompleteagreement,sosomedegree
ofdisputeisacceptable.Howmuchisacceptableis,ofcourse,amatterofserious
debate.Itisalsoimportanttokeepinmindthatevenafieldwithagreatdealofinternal
disputemightcontainareasofsignificantagreement.Insuchcases,anAppealto
Authoritycouldbelegitimate.

4.Thepersoninquestionisnotsignificantlybiased.
Ifanexpertissignificantlybiasedthentheclaimshemakeswithinhisareofbiaswill
belessreliable.Sinceabiasedexpertwillnotbereliable,anArgumentfromAuthority
basedonabiasedexpertwillbefallacious.Thisisbecausetheevidencewillnotjustify
acceptingtheclaim.
Experts,beingpeople,arevulnerabletobiasesandprejudices.Ifthereisevidencethat
apersonisbiasedinsomemannerthatwouldaffectthereliabilityofherclaims,thenan
ArgumentfromAuthoritybasedonthatpersonislikelytobefallacious.Eveniftheclaim
isactuallytrue,thefactthattheexpertisbiasedweakenstheargument.Thisisbecause
therewouldbereasontobelievethattheexpertmightnotbemakingtheclaimbecause
hehascarefullyconsidereditusinghisexpertise.Rather,therewouldbereasonto
believethattheclaimisbeingmadebecauseoftheexpertsbiasorprejudice.
Itisimportanttorememberthatnopersoniscompletelyobjective.Attheveryleast,a
personwillbefavorabletowardsherownviews(otherwiseshewouldprobablynothold
them).Becauseofthis,somedegreeofbiasmustbeaccepted,providedthatthebiasis

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notsignificant.Whatcountsasasignificantdegreeofbiasisopentodisputeandcan
varyagreatdealfromcasetocase.Forexample,manypeoplewouldprobablysuspect
thatdoctorswhowerepaidbytobaccocompaniestoresearchtheeffectsofsmoking
wouldbebiasedwhileotherpeoplemightbelieve(orclaim)thattheywouldbeableto
remainobjective.

5.Theareaofexpertiseisalegitimateareaordiscipline.
Certainareasinwhichapersonmayclaimexpertisemayhavenolegitimacyorvalidity
asareasofknowledgeorstudy.Obviously,claimsmadeinsuchareaswillnotbevery
reliable.
Whatcountsasalegitimateareaofexpertiseissometimesdifficulttodetermine.
However,therearecaseswhicharefairlyclearcut.Forexample,ifapersonclaimedto
beanexpertatsomethinghecalledchromabullettherapyandassertedthatfiring
paintedriflebulletsatapersonwouldcurecanceritwouldnotbeveryreasonableto
accepthisclaimbasedonhisexpertise.Afterall,hisexpertiseisinanareawhichis
devoidoflegitimatecontent.Thegeneralideaisthattobealegitimateexpertaperson
musthavemasteryoverarealfieldorareaofknowledge.
Asnotedabove,determiningthelegitimacyofafieldcanoftenbedifficult.In
Europeanhistory,variousscientistshadtostrugglewiththeChurchandestablished
traditionstoestablishthevalidityoftheirdisciplines.Forexample,expertsonevolution
facedanuphillbattleingettingthelegitimacyoftheirareaaccepted.
Amodernexampleinvolvespsychicphenomenon.Somepeopleclaimthattheyare
certifiedmasterpsychicsandthattheyareactuallyexpertsinthefield.Otherpeople
contendthattheirclaimsofbeingcertifiedmasterpsychicsaresimplyabsurdsince
thereisnorealcontenttosuchanareaofexpertise.Ifthesepeopleareright,then
anyonewhoacceptstheclaimsofthesemasterpsychicsastruearevictimsofa
fallaciousappealtoauthority.

6.Theauthorityinquestionmustbeidentified.
AcommonvariationofthetypicalAppealtoAuthorityfallacyisanAppealtoan
UnnamedAuthority.ThisfallacyisAlsoKnownasanAppealtoanUnidentified
Authority.
Thisfallacyiscommittedwhenapersonassertsthataclaimistruebecauseanexpert
orauthoritymakestheclaimandthepersondoesnotactuallyidentifytheexpert.Since
theexpertisnotnamedoridentified,thereisnowaytotellifthepersonisactuallyan
expert.Unlessthepersonisidentifiedandhashisexpertiseestablished,thereisno
reasontoaccepttheclaim.
Thissortofreasoningisnotunusual.Typically,thepersonmakingtheargumentwill
saythingslikeIhaveabookthatsays,ortheysay,ortheexpertssay,or
scientistsbelievethat,orIreadinthepaper..orIsawonTVorsomesimilar
statement.insuchcasesthepersonisoftenhopingthatthelistener(s)willsimplyaccept
theunidentifiedsourceasalegitimateauthorityandbelievetheclaimbeingmade.Ifa
personacceptstheclaimsimplybecausetheyaccepttheunidentifiedsourceasan
expert(withoutgoodreasontodoso),hehasfallenpreytothisfallacy.

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NonFallaciousAppealstoAuthority
Assuggestedabove,notallAppealstoAuthorityarefallacious.Thisisfortunatesince
peoplehavetorelyonexperts.Thisisbecausenoonepersoncanbeanexperton
everythingandpeopledonothavethetimeorabilitytoinvestigateeverysingleclaim
themselves.
Inmanycases,ArgumentsfromAuthoritywillbegoodarguments.Forexample,when
apersongoestoaskilleddoctorandthedoctortellshimthathehasacold,thenthe
patienthasgoodreasontoacceptthedoctorsconclusion.Asanotherexample,ifa
personscomputerisactingoddandhisfriend,whoisacomputerexpert,tellshimitis
probablyhisharddrivethenhehasgoodreasontobelieveher.
WhatdistinguishesafallaciousAppealtoAuthorityfromagoodAppealtoAuthorityis
thattheargumentmeetsthesixconditionsdiscussedabove.
InagoodAppealtoAuthority,thereisreasontobelievetheclaimbecausetheexpert
saystheclaimistrue.Thisisbecauseapersonwhoisalegitimateexpertismorelikely
toberightthanwrongwhenmakingconsideredclaimswithinherareaofexpertise.Ina
sense,theclaimisbeingacceptedbecauseitisreasonabletobelievethattheexperthas
testedtheclaimandfoundittobereliable.So,iftheexperthasfoundittobereliable,
thenitisreasonabletoacceptitasbeingtrue.Thus,thelistenerisacceptingaclaim
basedonthetestimonyoftheexpert.
ItshouldbenotedthatevenagoodAppealtoAuthorityisnotanexceptionallystrong
argument.Afterall,insuchcasesaclaimisbeingacceptedastruesimplybecausea
personisassertingthatitistrue.Thepersonmaybeanexpert,butherexpertisedoes
notreallybearonthetruthoftheclaim.Thisisbecausetheexpertiseofapersondoes
notactuallydeterminewhethertheclaimistrueorfalse.Hence,argumentsthatdeal
directlywithevidencerelatingtotheclaimitselfwilltendtobestronger.

Example#1:
BillandJanearearguingaboutthemoralityofabortion:

Bill:Ibelievethatabortionismorallyacceptable.Afterall,awomanshouldhavearight
toherownbody.
Jane:Idisagreecompletely.Dr.JohanSkarnsaysthatabortionisalwaysmorallywrong,
regardlessofthesituation.Hehastoberight,afterall,heisarespectedexpertinhis
field.
Bill:IveneverheardofDr.Skarn.Whoishe?
Jane:HestheguythatwontheNobelPrizeinphysicsforhisworkoncoldfusion.
Bill:Isee.Doeshehaveanyexpertiseinmoralityorethics?
Jane:Idontknow.Buthesaworldfamousexpert,soIbelievehim.

Example#2:
DaveandKintaroarearguingaboutStalinsreignintheSovietUnion.Davehasbeen
arguingthatStalinwasagreatleaderwhileKintarodisagreeswithhim.

9
Kintaro:IdontseehowyoucanconsiderStalintobeagreatleader.Hekilledmillions
ofhisownpeople,hecrippledtheSovieteconomy,keptmostofthepeopleinfearand
laidthefoundationsfortheviolencethatisoccurringinmuchofEasternEurope.
Dave:Yeah,wellyousaythat.However,IhaveabookathomethatsaysthatStalinwas
actinginthebestinterestofthepeople.Themillionsthatwerekilledwerevicious
enemiesofthestateandtheyhadtobekilledtoprotecttherestofthepeaceful
citizens.Thisbooklaysitallout,soithastobetrue.

Example#3:
Imnotadoctor,butIplayoneonthehitseriesBimbosandStudmuffinsintheOR.
Youcantakeitfrommethatwhenyouneedafastacting,effectiveandsafepainkiller
thereisnothingbetterthanMorphiDope2000.Thatismyconsideredmedicalopinion.

Example#4:
SiphweandSashaarehavingaconversation:
Sasha:IplayedthelotterytodayandIknowIamgoingtowinsomething.
Siphwe:Whatdidyoudo,rigtheoutcome?
Sasha:No,silly.IcalledmySuperPsychicBuddyatthe1900MindPowernumber.
AfterconsultinghismagicCalifornianTarotdeck,hetoldmemyluckynumbers.
Siphwe:Andyoubelievedhim?
Sasha:Certainly,heisacertifiedCalifornianMasterMindPsychic.ThatiswhyIbelieve
whathehastosay.Imean,like,whoelsewouldknowwhatmyluckynumbersare?

AppealtoBelief
Description:AppealtoBeliefisafallacythathasthisgeneralpattern:

1)Mostpeoplebelievethataclaim,X,istrue.
2)ThereforeXistrue.

Thislineofreasoningisfallaciousbecausethefactthatmanypeoplebelieveaclaim
doesnot,ingeneral,serveasevidencethattheclaimistrue.
Thereare,however,somecaseswhenthefactthatmanypeopleacceptaclaimas
trueisanindicationthatitistrue.Forexample,whileyouarevisitingMaine,youare
toldbyseveralpeoplethattheybelievethatpeopleolderthan16needtobuyafishing
licenseinordertofish.Barringreasonstodoubtthesepeople,theirstatementsgiveyou
reasontobelievethatanyoneover16willneedtobuyafishinglicense.
Therearealsocasesinwhichwhatpeoplebelieveactuallydeterminesthetruthofa
claim.Forexample,thetruthofclaimsaboutmannersandproperbehaviormight
simplydependonwhatpeoplebelievetobegoodmannersandproperbehavior.
Anotherexampleisthecaseofcommunitystandards,whichareoftentakentobethe
standardsthatmostpeopleaccept.Insomecases,whatviolatescertaincommunity
standardsistakentobeobscene.Insuchcases,fortheclaimxisobscenetobetrueis
formostpeopleinthatcommunitytobelievethatxisobscene.Insuchcasesitisstill
prudenttoquestionthejustificationoftheindividualbeliefs.
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Example#1:
Atonetime,mostpeopleinEuropebelievedthattheearthwasthecenterofthesolar
system(atleastmostofthosewhohadbeliefsaboutsuchthings).However,thisbelief
turnedouttobefalse.

Example#2:
Godmustexist.Afterall,Ijustsawapollthatsays85%ofallAmericansbelieveinGod.

Example#3:
Ofcoursethereisnothingwrongwithdrinking.Askanyone,helltellyouthathethinks
drinkingisjustfine.

AppealtoCommonPractice
Description:
TheAppealtoCommonPracticeisafallacywiththefollowingstructure:

1)Xisacommonaction.
2)ThereforeXiscorrect/moral/justified/reasonable,etc.

ThebasicideabehindthefallacyisthatthefactthatmostpeopledoXisusedas
evidencetosupporttheactionorpractice.Itisafallacybecausethemerefactthat
mostpeopledosomethingdoesnotmakeitcorrect,moral,justified,orreasonable.
Anappealtofairplay,whichmightseemtobeanappealtocommonpractice,need
notbeafallacy.Forexample,awomanworkinginanofficemightsaythemenwhodo
thesamejobasmegetpaidmorethanIdo,soitwouldberightformetogetpaidthe
sameasthem.Thiswouldnotbeafallacyaslongastherewasnorelevantdifference
betweenherandthemen(intermsofability,experience,hoursworked,etc.).More
formally:

1)ItiscommonpracticetotreatpeopleoftypeYinmannerXandtotreatpeopleof
typeZinadifferentmanner.
2)ThereisnorelevantdifferencebetweenpeopleoftypeYandtypeZ.
3)ThereforepeopleoftypeZshouldbetreatedinmannerX,too.

Thisargumentrestsheavilyontheprincipleofrelevantdifference.Onthisprinciple
twopeople,AandB,canonlybetreateddifferentlyifandonlyifthereisarelevant
differencebetweenthem.Forexample,itwouldbefineformetogiveabettergradeto
AthanBifAdidbetterworkthanB.However,itwouldbewrongofmetogiveAa
bettergradethanBsimplybecauseAhasredhairandBhasblondehair.
TheremightbesomecasesinwhichthefactthatmostpeopleacceptXasmoral
entailsthatXismoral.Forexample,oneviewofmoralityisthatmoralityisrelativeto

11
thepracticesofaculture,time,person,etc.Ifwhatismoralisdeterminedbywhatis
commonlypracticed,thenthisargument:

1)MostpeopledoX.
2)ThereforeXismorallycorrect.

wouldnotbeafallacy.Thiswouldhoweverentailsomeoddresults.Forexample,
imaginethatthereareonly100peopleonearth.60ofthemdonotstealorcheatand
40do.Atthistime,stealingandcheatingwouldbewrong.Thenextday,anatural
disasterkills30ofthe60peoplewhodonotcheatorsteal.Nowitismorallycorrectto
cheatandsteal.Thus,itwouldbepossibletochangethemoralorderoftheworldto
onesviewsimplybyeliminatingthosewhodisagree.

Example#1:
DirectorJonesisinchargeofrunningastatewastemanagementprogram.Whenitis
foundthattheprogramisrifewithcorruption,JonessaysThisprogramhasits
problems,butnothinggoesoninthisprogramthatdoesntgooninallstateprograms.

Example#2:
Yeah,Iknowsomepeoplesaythatcheatingontestsiswrong.Butweallknowthat
everyonedoesit,soitsokay.

Example#3:
Sure,somepeoplebuyintothatequalitycrap.However,weknowthateveryonepays
womenlessthenmen.Itsokay,too.Sinceeveryonedoesit,itcantreallybewrong.

Example#4:
Thereisnothingwrongwithrequiringmulticulturalclasses,evenattheexpenseofcore
subjects.Afterall,alloftheuniversitiesandcollegesarepushingmulticulturalism.

AppealtoEmotion
Description:
AnAppealtoEmotionisafallacywiththefollowingstructure:

1)FavorableemotionsareassociatedwithX.
2)Therefore,Xistrue.

Thisfallacyiscommittedwhensomeonemanipulatespeoplesemotionsinorderto
getthemtoacceptaclaimasbeingtrue.Moreformally,thissortofreasoning
involvesthesubstitutionofvariousmeansofproducingstrongemotionsinplaceof
evidenceforaclaim.IfthefavorableemotionsassociatedwithXinfluencethepersonto
acceptXastruebecausetheyfeelgoodaboutX,thenhehasfallenpreytothefallacy.

12
 Thissortofreasoningisverycommoninpoliticsanditservesasthebasisforalarge
portionofmodernadvertising.Mostpoliticalspeechesareaimedatgeneratingfeelings
inpeoplesothatthesefeelingswillgetthemtovoteoractacertainway.Inthecaseof
advertising,thecommercialsareaimedatevokingemotionsthatwillinfluencepeople
tobuycertainproducts.Inmostcases,suchspeechesandcommercialsarenotoriously
freeofrealevidence.
Thissortofreasoningisquiteevidentlyfallacious.Itisfallaciousbecauseusing
varioustacticstoinciteemotionsinpeopledoesnotserveasevidenceforaclaim.For
example,ifapersonwereabletoinspireinapersonanincrediblehatredoftheclaim
that1+1=2andtheninspiredthepersontolovetheclaimthat1+1=3,itwouldhardly
followthattheclaimthat1+1=3wouldbeadequatelysupported.
Itshouldbenotedthatinmanycasesitisnotparticularlyobviousthattheperson
committingthefallacyisattemptingtosupportaclaim.Inmanycases,theuserofthe
fallacywillappeartobeattemptingtomovepeopletotakeanaction,suchasbuyinga
productorfightinginawar.However,itispossibletodeterminewhatsortofclaimthe
personisactuallyattemptingtosupport.Insuchcasesoneneedstoaskwhatsortof
claimisthispersonattemptingtogetpeopletoacceptandacton?Determiningthis
claim(orclaims)mighttakesomework.However,inmanycasesitwillbequiteevident.
Forexample,ifapoliticalleaderisattemptingtoconvinceherfollowerstoparticipatein
certainactsofviolencebytheuseofahatespeech,thenherclaimwouldbeyou
shouldparticipateintheseactsofviolence.Inthiscase,theevidencewouldbethe
hatredevokedinthefollowers.Thishatredwouldservetomakethemfavorable
inclinedtowardstheclaimthattheyshouldengageintheactsofviolence.Asanother
example,abeercommercialmightshowhappy,scantilycladmenandwomenprancing
aboutabeach,guzzlingbeer.Inthiscasetheclaimwouldbeyoushouldbuythisbeer.
Theevidencewouldbetheexcitementevokedbyseeingthebeautifulpeopleguzzling
thebeer.
Thisfallacyisactuallyanextremelyeffectivepersuasivedevice.Asmanypeoplehave
argued,peoplesemotionsoftencarrymuchmoreforcethantheirreason.Logical
argumentationisoftendifficultandtimeconsuminganditrarelyhasthepowertospurn
peopletoaction.Itisthepowerofthisfallacythatexplainsitsgreatpopularityandwide
usage.However,itisstillafallacy.
Inallfairnessitmustbenotedthattheuseoftacticstoinspireemotionsisan
importantskill.Withoutanappealtopeoplesemotions,itisoftendifficulttogetthem
totakeactionortoperformattheirbest.Forexample,nogoodcoachpresentsher
teamwithsyllogismsbeforethebiggame.Insteadsheinspiresthemwithemotional
termsandattemptstofirethemup.Thereisnothinginherentlywrongwiththis.
However,itisnotanyacceptableformofargumentation.Aslongasoneisableto
clearlydistinguishbetweenwhatinspiresemotionsandwhatjustifiesaclaim,oneis
unlikelytofallpreytothisfallacy.
Asafinalpoint,inmanycasesitwillbedifficulttodistinguishanAppealtoEmotion
fromsomeotherfallaciesandinmanycasesmultiplefallaciesmaybecommitted.For
example,manyAdHominemswillbeverysimilartoAppealstoEmotionand,insome
cases,bothfallacieswillbecommitted.Asanexample,aleadermightattempttoinvoke

13
hatredofapersontoinspirehisfollowerstoacceptthattheyshouldrejectherclaims.
ThesameattackcouldfunctionasanAppealtoEmotionandaPersonalAttack.Inthe
firstcase,theattackwouldbeaimedatmakingthefollowersfeelveryfavorableabout
rejectingherclaims.Inthesecondcase,theattackwouldbeaimedatmakingthe
followersrejectthepersonsclaimsbecauseofsomeperceived(orimagined)defectin
hercharacter.
ThisfallacyisrelatedtotheAppealtoPopularityfallacy.Despitethedifferences
betweenthesetwofallacies,theyarebothunitedbythefactthattheyinvolveappeals
toemotions.Inbothcasesthefallaciesaimatgettingpeopletoacceptclaimsbasedon
howtheyorothersfeelabouttheclaimsandnotbasedonevidencefortheclaims.

Anotherwaytolookatthesetwofallaciesisasfollows

AppealtoPopularity
1)MostpeopleapproveofX.
2)So,IshouldapproveofX,too.
3)SinceIapproveofX,Xmustbetrue.

AppealtoEmotion
1)IapproveofX.
2)Therefore,Xistrue.

Onthisview,inanAppealtoPopularitytheclaimisacceptedbecausemostpeople
approveoftheclaim.InthecaseofanAppealtoEmotiontheclaimisacceptedbecause
theindividualapprovesoftheclaimbecauseoftheemotionofapprovalhefeelsin
regardstotheclaim.

Example#1:
ThenewPowerTangerinecomputergivesyouthepoweryouneed.Ifyoubuyone,
peoplewillenvyyourpower.Theywilllookuptoyouandwishtheywerejustlikeyou.
Youwillknowthetruejoyofpower.TangerinePower.

Example#2:
ThenewUltraSkinnydietwillmakeyoufeelgreat.Nolongerbetroubledbyyour
weight.Enjoytheadmiringstaresoftheoppositesex.Revelinyournewfreedomfrom
fat.Youwillknowtruehappinessifyoutryourdiet!

Example#3:
Billgoestohearapoliticianspeak.Thepoliticiantellsthecrowdabouttheevilsofthe
governmentandtheneedtothrowoutthepeoplewhoarecurrentlyinoffice.After
hearingthespeech,Billisfullofhatredforthecurrentpoliticians.Becauseofthis,he
feelsgoodaboutgettingridoftheoldpoliticiansandacceptsthatitistherightthingto
dobecauseofhowhefeels.

14

AppealtoFear
AlsoKnownas:ScareTactics,AppealtoForce,AdBaculum
Description:
TheAppealtoFearisafallacywiththefollowingpattern:

1)Yispresented(aclaimthatisintendedtoproducefear).
2)ThereforeclaimXistrue(aclaimthatisgenerally,butneednotbe,relatedtoYin
somemanner).

Thislineofreasoningisfallaciousbecausecreatingfearinpeopledoesnot
constituteevidenceforaclaim.
Itisimportanttodistinguishbetweenarationalreasontobelieve(RRB)(evidence)
andaprudentialreasontobelieve(PRB)(motivation).ARRBisevidencethatobjectively
andlogicallysupportstheclaim.APRBisareasontoacceptthebeliefbecauseofsome
externalfactor(suchasfear,athreat,orabenefitorharmthatmaystemfromthe
belief)thatisrelevanttowhatapersonvaluesbutisnotrelevanttothetruthorfalsity
oftheclaim.Forexample,itmightbeprudenttonotfailthesonofyourdepartment
chairpersonbecauseyoufearhewillmakelifetoughforyou.However,thisdoesnot
provideevidencefortheclaimthatthesondeservestopasstheclass.

Example#1:
Youknow,ProfessorSmith,IreallyneedtogetanAinthisclass.Idliketostopby
duringyourofficehourslatertodiscussmygrade.Illbeinyourbuildinganyways,
vistingmyfather.Hesyourdean,bytheway.Illseeyoulater.

Example#2:
IdontthinkaRedRyderBBriflewouldmakeagoodpresentforyou.Theyarevery
dangerousandyoullputyoureyeout.Now,dontyouagreethatyoushouldthinkof
anothergiftidea?

Example#3:
YoumustbelievethatGodexists.Afterall,ifyoudonotaccepttheexistenceofGod,
thenyouwillfacethehorrorsofhell.

Example#4:
Youshouldntsaysuchthingsagainstmulticulturalism!Ifthechairheardwhatyouwere
saying,youwouldneverreceivetenure.So,youhadjustbetterlearntoacceptthatitis
simplywrongtospeakoutagainstit.

15
AppealtoFlattery
AlsoKnownas:ApplePolishing,variouscolorfulexpressions
Description:
AnAppealtoFlatteryisafallacyofthefollowingform:

1)PersonAisflatteredbypersonB.
2)PersonBmakesclaimX.
3)ThereforeXistrue.

Thebasicideabehindthisfallacyisthatflatteryispresentedintheplaceofevidence
foracceptingaclaim.Thissortofreasoningisfallaciousbecauseflatteryisnot,infact,
evidenceforaclaim.Thisisespeciallyclearinacaselikethis:MyBill,thatisareally
nicetie.Bytheway,itisquiteclearthatoneplusoneisequaltofortythree.

Example#1:
MightIsaythatthisisthebestphilosophyclassIveevertaken.Bytheway,aboutthose
twopointsIneedtogetanA.

Example#2:
ThatwasawonderfuljokeaboutAIDSboss,andIagreewithyouthatthedamnliberals
arewreckingthecountry.Nowaboutmyraise

Example#3:
Thatwasasingularlybrilliantidea.Ihaveneverseensuchaclearandeloquentdefense
ofPlatosposition.Ifyoudonotmind,Illbasemypaperonit.Providedthatyouallow
mealittleextratimepastthedeadlinetoworkonit.

AppealtoNovelty
AlsoKnownas:AppealtotheNew,NewerisBetter,Novelty
Description:
AppealtoNoveltyisafallacythatoccurswhenitisassumedthatsomethingisbetteror
correctsimplybecauseitisnew.Thissortofreasoninghasthefollowingform:

1.Xisnew.
2.ThereforeXiscorrectorbetter.

Thissortofreasoningisfallaciousbecausethenoveltyornewnessofsomething
doesnotautomaticallymakeitcorrectorbetterthansomethingolder.Thisismade
quiteobviousbythefollowingexample:Joehasproposedthat1+1shouldnowbeequal
to3.Whenaskedwhypeopleshouldacceptthis,hesaysthathejustcameupwiththe
idea.Sinceitisnewerthantheideathat1+1=2,itmustbebetter.
Thissortofreasoningisappealingformanyreasons.First,westernculture
includesaverypowerfulcommitmenttothenotionthatnewthingsmustbebetterthan

16
oldthings.Second,thenotionofprogress(whichseemstohavecome,inpart,fromthe
notionofevolution)impliesthatnewerthingswillbesuperiortoolderthings.Third,
mediaadvertisingoftensendsthemessagethatnewermustbebetter.Becauseofthese
threefactors(andothers)peopleoftenacceptthatanewthing(idea,product,concept,
etc.)mustbebetterbecauseitisnew.Hence,Noveltyisasomewhatcommonfallacy,
especiallyinadvertising.
Itshouldnotbeassumedthatoldthingsmustbebetterthannewthings(seethe
fallacyAppealtoTradition)anymorethanitshouldbeassumedthatnewthingsare
betterthanoldthings.Theageofathingdoesnot,ingeneral,haveanybearingonits
qualityorcorrectness(inthiscontext).
Obviously,agedoeshaveabearinginsomecontexts.Forexample,ifaperson
concludedthathisdayoldmilkwasbetterthanhistwomontholdmilk,hewouldnot
becommittinganAppealtoNovelty.Thisisbecauseinsuchcasesthenewnessofthe
thingisrelevanttoitsquality.Thus,thefallacyiscommittedonlywhenthenewnessis
not,inandofitself,relevanttotheclaim.

Example#1:
TheSadisike900pumpupglowshoe.Itsbetterbecauseitsnew.

Example#2:
James:So,whatisthisnewplan?
Biff:Well,thelatestthinginmarketingtechniquesistheGKmethod.Itisthelatest
thingoutofthethinktank.Itissonewthattheinkonthereportsisstilldrying.
James:Well,ouroldmarketingmethodhasbeenquiteeffective.Idontliketheideaof
jumpingtoanewmethodwithoutagoodreason.
Biff:Well,weknowthatwehavetostayonthecuttingedge.Thatmeansnewideas
andnewtechniqueshavetobeused.TheGKmethodisnew,soitwilldobetterthan
thatold,dustymethod.

Example#3:
Prof:Soyoucanseethatanewandbettermoralityissweepingthenation.Nolonger
arepeoplewithalternativelifestylesashamed.Nolongerarepeoplecaughtupinthe
outmodedmoralitiesofthepast.
Student:Well,whatabouttheideasofthegreatthinkersofthepast?Donttheyhave
somevalidpoints?
Prof:Agoodquestion.Theansweristhattheyhadsomevalidpointsintheirown,
barbarictimes.Butthoseareold,moldymoralitiesfromatimelonggone.Nowisatime
fornewmoralities.Progressandallthat,youknow.
Student:Sowouldyousaythatthenewmoralitiesarebetterbecausetheyare
newer?
Prof:Exactly.Justasthedinosaursdiedofftomakewayfornewanimals,theoldideas
havetogivewayforthenewones.Andjustashumansarebetterthandinosaurs,the
newideasarebetterthantheold.Sonewerisliterallybetter.
Student:Isee.

17

AppealtoPity
AlsoKnownas:AdMisericordiam
Description:
AnAppealtoPityisafallacyinwhichapersonsubstitutesaclaimintendedtocreate
pityforevidenceinanargument.Theformoftheargumentisasfollows:

1.Pispresented,withtheintenttocreatepity.
2.ThereforeclaimCistrue.

Thislineofreasoningisfallaciousbecausepitydoesnotserveasevidencefora
claim.Thisisextremelyclearinthefollowingcase:Youmustacceptthat1+1=46,after
allImdyingWhileyoumaypitymebecauseIamdying,itwouldhardlymakemy
claimtrue.
ThisfallacydiffersfromtheAppealtotheConsequencesofaBelief(ACB).IntheACB
fallacy,apersonisusingtheeffectsofabeliefasasubstituteforevidence.IntheAppeal
toPity,itisthefeelingsofpityorsympathythataresubstitutedforevidence.
Itmustbenotedthattherearecasesinwhichclaimsthatactuallyserveasevidence
alsoevokeafeelingofpity.Insuchcases,thefeelingofpityisstillnotevidence.The
followingisanexampleofacaseinwhichaclaimevokespityandalsoservesas
legitimateevidence:

Professor:Youmissedthemidterm,Bill.
Bill:Iknow.Ithinkyoushouldletmetakethemakeup.
Professor:Why?
Bill:Iwashitbyatruckonthewaytothemidterm.SinceIhadtogototheemergency
roomwithabrokenleg,IthinkIamentitledtoamakeup.
Professor:Imsorryabouttheleg,Bill.Ofcourseyoucanmakeitup.

Theaboveexampledoesnotinvolveafallacy.Whiletheprofessordoesfeelsorryfor
Bill,sheisjustifiedinacceptingBillsclaimthathedeservesamakeup.Afterallgetting
runoverbyatruckwouldbealegitimateexcuseformissingatest.

Example#1:
Jill:Hedbeaterriblecoachfortheteam.
Bill:Hehadhisheartsetonthejob,anditwouldbreakifhedidntgetit.
Jill:Iguesshelldoanadequatejob.

Example#2:
Impositivethatmyworkwillmeetyourrequirements.Ireallyneedthejobsincemy
grandmotherissick

18
Example#3:
IshouldreceiveanAinthisclass.Afterall,ifIdontgetanAIwontgetthe
fellowshipthatIwant.

AppealtoPopularity
Description:
TheAppealtoPopularityhasthefollowingform:

1)MostpeopleapproveofX(havefavorableemotionstowardsX).
2)ThereforeXistrue.

Thebasicideaisthataclaimisacceptedasbeingtruesimplybecausemostpeopleare
favorablyinclinedtowardstheclaim.Moreformally,thefactthatmostpeoplehave
favorableemotionsassociatedwiththeclaimissubstitutedinplaceofactualevidence
fortheclaim.Apersonfallspreytothisfallacyifheacceptsaclaimasbeingtruesimply
becausemostotherpeopleapproveoftheclaim.
Itisclearlyfallacioustoaccepttheapprovalofthemajorityasevidenceforaclaim.
Forexample,supposethataskilledspeakermanagedtogetmostpeopletoabsolutely
lovetheclaimthat1+1=3.Itwouldstillnotberationaltoacceptthisclaimsimply
becausemostpeopleapprovedofit.Afterall,mereapprovalisnosubstitutefora
mathematicalproof.Atonetimepeopleapprovedofclaimssuchastheworldisflat,
humanscannotsurviveatspeedsgreaterthan25milesperhour,thesunrevolves
aroundtheearthbutalltheseclaimsturnedouttobefalse.
Thissortofreasoningisquitecommonandcanbequiteaneffectivepersuasive
device.Sincemosthumanstendtoconformwiththeviewsofthemajority,convincinga
personthatthemajorityapprovesofaclaimisoftenaneffectivewaytogethimto
acceptit.Advertisersoftenusethistacticwhentheyattempttosellproductsby
claimingthateveryoneusesandlovestheirproducts.Insuchcasestheyhopethat
peoplewillacceptthe(purported)approvalofothersasagoodreasontobuythe
product.
ThisfallacyisvaguelysimilartosuchfallaciesasAppealtoBeliefandAppealto
CommonPractice.However,inthecaseofanAdPopulumtheappealistothefactthat
mostpeopleapproveofaclaim.InthecaseofanAppealtoBelief,theappealistothe
factthatmostpeoplebelieveaclaim.InthecaseofanAppealtoCommonPractice,the
appealistothefactthatmanypeopletaketheactioninquestion.
ThisfallacyiscloselyrelatedtotheAppealtoEmotionfallacy,asdiscussedintheentry
forthatfallacy.

Example#1:
MyfellowAmericanstherehasbeensometalkthatthegovernmentisoversteppingits
boundsbyallowingpolicetoenterpeopleshomeswithoutthewarrantstraditionally
requiredbytheConstitution.However,thesearedangeroustimesanddangeroustimes
requireappropriateactions.Ihaveinmyofficethousandsoflettersfrompeoplewholet
meknow,innouncertainterms,thattheyheartilyendorsethewaragainstterrorismin
19
theseUnitedStates.Becauseofthisoverwhelmingapproval,itisevidentthatthepolice
aredoingtherightthing.

Example#2:
Ireadtheotherdaythatmostpeoplereallylikethenewguncontrollaws.Iwassortof
suspiciousofthem,butIguessifmostpeoplelikethem,thentheymustbeokay.

Example#3:
JillandJanehavesomeconcernsthattherulestheirsororityhassetareracistin
character.SinceJillisadecentperson,shebringsherconcernsupinthenextmeeting.
Thepresidentofthesororityassuresherthatthereisnothingwrongwiththerules,
sincethemajorityofthesisterslikethem.JaneacceptsthisrulingbutJilldecidesto
leavethesorority.

AppealtoRidicule
AlsoKnownas:AppealtoMockery,TheHorseLaugh.
Description:
TheAppealtoRidiculeisafallacyinwhichridiculeormockeryissubstitutedfor
evidenceinanargument.Thislineofreasoninghasthefollowingform:
1.X,whichissomeformofridiculeispresented(typicallydirectedattheclaim).
2.ThereforeclaimCisfalse.

Thissortofreasoningisfallaciousbecausemockingaclaimdoesnotshowthatitis
false.Thisisespeciallyclearinthefollowingexample:1+1=2!Thatsthemostridiculous
thingIhaveeverheard!
Itshouldbenotedthatshowingthataclaimisridiculousthroughtheuseoflegitimate
methods(suchasanonfallaciousargument)canmakeitreasonabletorejecttheclaim.
Oneformofthislineofreasoningisknownasareductioadabsurdum(reducingto
absurdity).Inthissortofargument,theideaistoshowthatacontradiction(a
statementthatmustbefalse)oranabsurdresultfollowsfromaclaim.Forexample:
Billclaimsthatamemberofaminoritygroupcannotbearacist.However,thisis
absurd.Thinkaboutthis:whitemalesareaminorityintheworld.GivenBillsclaim,it
wouldfollowthatnowhitemalescouldberacists.Hence,theKlan,Nazis,andwhite
supremacistsarenotracistorganizations.
SincetheclaimthattheKlan,Nazis,andwhitesupremacistsarenotracist
organizationsisclearlyabsurd,itcanbeconcludedthattheclaimthatamemberofa
minoritycannotbearacistisfalse.

Example#1:
Suremyworthyopponentclaimsthatweshouldlowertuition,butthatisjust
laughable.

20
Example#2:
Equalrightsforwomen?Yeah,Illsupportthatwhentheystartpayingfordinnerand
takingoutthetrash!Hahhah!Fetchmeanotherbrewski,Mildred.

Example#3:
Thosecrazyconservatives!Theythinkastrongmilitaryisthekeytopeace!Suchfools!

AppealtoSpite
Description:
TheAppealtoSpiteFallacyisafallacyinwhichspiteissubstitutedforevidencewhen
anargumentismadeagainstaclaim.Thislineofreasoninghasthefollowingform:
1.ClaimXispresentedwiththeintentofgeneratingspite.
2.ThereforeclaimCisfalse(ortrue)

Thissortofreasoningisfallaciousbecauseafeelingofspitedoesnotcountas
evidencefororagainstaclaim.Thisisquiteclearinthefollowingcase:Billclaimsthat
theearthrevolvesaroundthesun.Butrememberthatdirtytrickhepulledonyoulast
week.Now,doesntmyclaimthatthesunrevolvesaroundtheearthmakesenseto
you?
Ofcourse,therearecasesinwhichaclaimthatevokesafeelingofspiteormalicecan
serveaslegitimateevidence.However,itshouldbenotedthattheactualfeelingsof
maliceorspitearenotevidence.Thefollowingisanexampleofsuchasituation:

Jill:IthinkIllvoteforJanetobetreasurerofNOW.
Vicki:Rememberthetimethatyourpursevanishedatameetinglastyear?
Jill:Yes.
Vicki:Well,Ijustfoundoutthatshestoleyourpurseandstolesomeotherstufffrom
people.
Jill:Imnotvotingforher!

Inthiscase,JillhasagoodreasonnottovoteforJane.Sinceatreasurershouldbe
honest,aknownthiefwouldbeabadchoice.AslongasJillconcludesthatsheshould
voteagainstJanebecausesheisathiefandnotjustoutofspite,herreasoningwould
notbefallacious.

Example#1:
Bill:IthinkthatJanedidagreatjobthisyear.Imgoingtonominateherfortheaward.
Dave:Haveyouforgottenlastyear?Rememberthatshedidntnominateyoulast
year.
Bill:Youreright.Imnotgoingtonominateher.

21
Example#2:
Jill:IthinkJanesideaisareallygoodoneandwillreallysavealotofmoneyforthe
department.
Bill:Maybe.Rememberhowsheshowedthatyourpaperhadafatalflawwhenyou
readitattheconventionlastyear
Jill:Ihadjustaboutforgottenaboutthat!IthinkIllgowithyourideainstead.

AppealtoTradition
AlsoKnownas:AppealtotheOld,OldWaysareBest,FallaciousAppealtothePast,
AppealtoAge
Description:
AppealtoTraditionisafallacythatoccurswhenitisassumedthatsomethingisbetter
orcorrectsimplybecauseitisolder,traditional,oralwayshasbeendone.Thissortof
reasoninghasthefollowingform:

1.Xisoldortraditional
2.ThereforeXiscorrectorbetter.

Thissortofreasoningisfallaciousbecausetheageofsomethingdoesnot
automaticallymakeitcorrectorbetterthansomethingnewer.Thisismadequite
obviousbythefollowingexample:Thetheorythatwitchesanddemonscausediseaseis
farolderthanthetheorythatmicroorganismcausediseases.Therefore,thetheory
aboutwitchesanddemonsmustbetrue.
Thissortofreasoningisappealingforavarietyofreasons.First,peopleoftenprefer
tostickwithwhatisolderortraditional.Thisisafairlycommonpsychological
characteristicofpeoplewhichmaystemfromthefactthatpeoplefeelmore
comfortableaboutwhathasbeenaroundlonger.Second,stickingwiththingsthatare
olderortraditionalisofteneasierthantestingnewthings.Hence,peopleoftenprefer
olderandtraditionalthingsoutoflaziness.Hence,AppealtoTraditionisasomewhat
commonfallacy.
Itshouldnotbeassumedthatnewthingsmustbebetterthanoldthings(seethe
fallacyAppealtoNovelty)anymorethanitshouldbeassumedthatoldthingsarebetter
thannewthings.Theageofthingdoesnot,ingeneral,haveanybearingonitsqualityor
correctness(inthiscontext).Inthecaseoftradition,assumingthatsomethingiscorrect
justbecauseitisconsideredatraditionispoorreasoning.Forexample,ifthebeliefthat
1+1=56wereatraditionofagroupofpeopleitwouldhardlyfollowthatitistrue.
Obviously,agedoeshaveabearinginsomecontexts.Forexample,ifaperson
concludedthatagedwinewouldbebetterthanbrandnewwine,hewouldnotbe
committinganAppealtoTradition.Thisisbecause,insuchcasestheageofthethingis
relevanttoitsquality.Thus,thefallacyiscommittedonlywhentheageisnot,inandof
itself,relevanttotheclaim.
Onefinalissuethatmustbeconsideredisthetestoftime.Insomecasespeople
mightbeassumingthatbecausesomethinghaslastedasatraditionorhasbeenaround
alongtimethatitistruebecauseithaspassedthetestoftime.Ifapersonassumes
22
thatsomethingmustbecorrectortruesimplybecauseithaspersistedalongtime,then
hehascommittedanAppealtoTradition.Afterall,ashistoryhasshownpeoplecan
persistinacceptingfalseclaimsforcenturies.
However,ifapersonarguesthattheclaimorthinginquestionhassuccessfullystood
uptochallengesandtestsforalongperiodoftimethentheywouldnotbecommitting
afallacy.Insuchcasestheclaimwouldbebackedbyevidence.Asanexample,the
theorythatmatterismadeofsubatomicparticleshassurvivednumeroustestsand
challengesovertheyearssothereisaweightofevidenceinitsfavor.Theclaimis
reasonabletoacceptbecauseoftheweightofthisevidenceandnotbecausetheclaim
isold.Thus,aclaimssurvivinglegitimatechallengesandpassingvalidtestsforalong
periodoftimecanjustifytheacceptanceofaclaim.Butmereageorpersistencedoes
notwarrantacceptingaclaim.

Example#1:
SureIbelieveinGod.PeoplehavebelievedinGodforthousandsofyearssoitseems
clearthatGodmustexist.Afterall,whyelsewouldthebelieflastsolong?

Example#2:
GuntharisthefatherofConnan.Theyliveonasmallislandandintheirculturewomen
aretreatedaspropertytobeexchangedatwillbymen.

Connan:Youknowfather,whenIwasgoingtoschoolintheUnitedStatesIsawthat
Americanwomenarenottreatedasproperty.Infact,Ireadabookbythisperson
namedMillinwhichhearguedforwomensrights.
Gunthar:So,whatisyourpointson?
Connan:Well,Ithinkthatitmightbewrongtotrademysistersforcattle.Theyare
humanbeingsandshouldhavearighttobemastersoftheirownfate.
Gunthar:WhatastrangeandnewfanglednotionyoupickedupinAmerica.That
countrymustbeevenmorebarbaricthenIimagined.Nowthinkaboutthisson.We
havebeentradingwomenforcattleforaslongasourpeoplehavelivedonthisisland.It
isatraditionthatgoesbackintothemistsoftime.
Connan:ButIstillthinkthereissomethingwrongwithit.
Gunthar:Nonsensemyboy.Atraditionthisoldmustbeendorsedbythegodsand
mustberight.

Example#3:
Ofcoursethismodeofgovernmentisthebest.Wehavehadthisgovernmentforover
200yearsandnoonehastalkedaboutchangingitinallthattime.So,ithasgottobe
good.

Example#4:
Areporterisinterviewingtheheadofafamilythathasbeeninvolvedwithafeudwith
anotherfamily.

23
Reporter:Mr.Hatfield,whyareyoustillfightingitoutwiththeMcCoys?
Hatfield:Wellyouseeyoungman,myfatherfeudedwiththeMcCoysandhisfather
feudedwiththemandsodidmygreatgrandfather.
Reporter:Butwhy?Whatstartedallthis?
Hatfield:Idontrightlyknow.ImsureitwastheMcCoyswhostarteditall,though.
Reporter:Ifyoudontknowwhyyourefighting,whydontyoujuststop?
Hatfield:Stop?Whatareyoucrazy?ThisfeudhasbeengoingonforgenerationssoIm
surethereisadarngoodreasonwhyitstarted.SoIaimtokeepitgoing.Ithasgottobe
therightthingtodo.Handmemyshootingironboy,IseeoneofthoseMcCoyskunks
sneakinginthecornfield.

BeggingtheQuestion
AlsoKnownas:CircularReasoning,ReasoninginaCircle,PetitioPrincipii
Description:
BeggingtheQuestionisafallacyinwhichthepremisesincludetheclaimthatthe
conclusionistrueor(directlyorindirectly)assumethattheconclusionistrue.Thissort
ofreasoningtypicallyhasthefollowingform.

1.Premisesinwhichthetruthoftheconclusionisclaimedorthetruthoftheconclusion
isassumed(eitherdirectlyorindirectly).
2.ClaimC(theconclusion)istrue.

Thissortofreasoningisfallaciousbecausesimplyassumingthattheconclusionis
true(directlyorindirectly)inthepremisesdoesnotconstituteevidenceforthat
conclusion.Obviously,simplyassumingaclaimistruedoesnotserveasevidencefor
thatclaim.Thisisespeciallyclearinparticularlyblatantcases:Xistrue.Theevidence
forthisclaimisthatXistrue.

Somecasesofquestionbeggingarefairlyblatant,whileotherscanbeextremelysubtle.

Example#1:
Bill:Godmustexist.
Jill:Howdoyouknow.
Bill:BecausetheBiblesaysso.
Jill:WhyshouldIbelievetheBible?
Bill:BecausetheBiblewaswrittenbyGod.

Example#2:
Ifsuchactionswerenotillegal,thentheywouldnotbeprohibitedbythelaw.

Example#3:
ThebeliefinGodisuniversal.Afterall,everyonebelievesinGod.

24
Example#4:
Interviewer:YourresumelooksimpressivebutIneedanotherreference.
Bill:Jillcangivemeagoodreference.
Interviewer:Good.ButhowdoIknowthatJillistrustworthy?
Bill:Certainly.Icanvouchforher.

BiasedGeneralization
AlsoKnownas:BiasedStatistics,LoadedSample,PrejudicedStatistics,Prejudiced
Sample,LoadedStatistics,BiasedInduction,BiasedGeneralization
Description:
Thisfallacyiscommittedwhenapersondrawsaconclusionaboutapopulationbased
onasamplethatisbiasedorprejudicedinsomemanner.Ithasthefollowingform:

1.SampleS,whichisbiased,istakenfrompopulationP.
2.ConclusionCisdrawnaboutPopulationPbasedonS.

Thepersoncommittingthefallacyismisusingthefollowingtypeofreasoning,whichis
knownvariouslyasInductiveGeneralization,Generalization,andStatistical
Generalization:

1.X%ofallobservedAsareBs.
2.ThereforeX%ofallAsareBs.

ThefallacyiscommittedwhenthesampleofAsislikelytobebiasedinsomemanner.
Asampleisbiasedorloadedwhenthemethodusedtotakethesampleislikelytoresult
inasamplethatdoesnotadequatelyrepresentthepopulationfromwhichitisdrawn.

Biasedsamplesaregenerallynotveryreliable.Asablatantcase,imaginethataperson
istakingasamplefromatruckloadofsmallcoloredballs,someofwhicharemetaland
someofwhichareplastic.Ifheusedamagnettoselecthissample,thenhissample
wouldincludeadisproportionatenumberofmetalballs(afterall,thesamplewill
probablybemadeupentirelyofthemetalballs).Inthiscase,anyconclusionshemight
drawaboutthewholepopulationofballswouldbeunreliablesincehewouldhavefew
ornoplasticballsinthesample.

Thegeneralideaisthatbiasedsamplesarelesslikelytocontainnumbersproportional
tothewholepopulation.Forexample,ifapersonwantstofindoutwhatmost
Americansthoughtaboutguncontrol,apolltakenatanNRAmeetingwouldbeabiased
sample.
SincetheBiasedSamplefallacyiscommittedwhenthesample(theobservedinstances)
isbiasedorloaded,itisimportanttohavesamplesthatarenotbiasedmakinga
generalization.Thebestwaytodothisistotakesamplesinwaysthatavoidbias.There
are,ingeneral,threetypesofsamplesthatareaimedatavoidingbias.Thegeneralidea

25
isthatthesemethods(whenusedproperly)willresultinasamplethatmatchesthe
wholepopulationfairlyclosely.Thethreetypesofsamplesareasfollows
RandomSample:Thisisasamplethatistakeninsuchawaythatnothingbutchance
determineswhichmembersofthepopulationareselectedforthesample.Ideally,any
individualmemberofthepopulationhasthesamechanceasbeingselectedasany
other.Thistypeofsampleavoidsbeingbiasedbecauseabiasedsampleisonethatis
takeninsuchawaythatsomemembersofthepopulationhaveasignificantlygreater
chanceofbeingselectedforthesamplethanothermembers.Unfortunately,creating
anidealrandomsampleisoftenverydifficult.

StratifiedSample:Thisisasamplethatistakenbyusingthefollowingsteps:1)The
relevantstrata(populationsubgroups)areidentified,2)Thenumberofmembersin
eachstratumisdeterminedand3)Arandomsampleistakenfromeachstratuminexact
proportiontoitssize.Thismethodisobviouslymostusefulwhendealingwithstratified
populations.Forexample,apersonsincomeofteninfluenceshowshevotes,sowhen
conductingapresidentialpollitwouldbeagoodideatotakeastratifiedsampleusing
economicclassesasthebasisfordeterminingthestrata.Thismethodavoidsloaded
samplesby(ideally)ensuringthateachstratumofthepopulationisadequately
represented.

TimeLapseSample:Thistypeofsampleistakenbytakingastratifiedorrandomsample
andthentakingatleastonemoresamplewithasignificantlapseoftimebetweenthem.
Afterthetwosamplesaretaken,theycanbecomparedforchanges.Thismethodof
sampletakingisveryimportantwhenmakingpredictions.Apredictionbasedononly
onesampleislikelytobeaHastyGeneralization(becausethesampleislikelytobetoo
smalltocoverpast,presentandfuturepopulations)oraBiasedSample(becausethe
samplewillonlyincludeinstancesfromonetimeperiod).

PeopleoftencommitBiasedSamplebecauseofbiasorprejudice.Forexample,a
personmightintentionallyorunintentionallyseekoutpeopleoreventsthatsupporthis
bias.Asanexample,apersonwhoispushingaparticularscientifictheorymighttendto
gathersamplesthatarebiasedinfavorofthattheory.
Peoplealsocommonlycommitthisfallacybecauseoflazinessorsloppiness.Itisvery
easytosimplytakeasamplefromwhathappenstobeeasilyavailableratherthan
takingthetimeandefforttogenerateanadequatesampleanddrawajustified
conclusion.
Itisimportanttokeepinmindthatbiasisrelativetothepurposeofthesample.For
example,ifBillwantedtoknowwhatNRAmembersthoughtaboutaguncontrollaw,
thentakingasampleataNRAmeetingwouldnotbebiased.However,ifBillwantedto
determinewhatAmericansingeneralthoughtaboutthelaw,thenasampletakenatan
NRAmeetingwouldbebiased.

26
Example#1:
BillisassignedbyhiseditortodeterminewhatmostAmericansthinkaboutanewlaw
thatwillplaceafederaltaxonallmodemsandcomputerspurchased.Therevenues
fromthetaxwillbeusedtoenforcenewonlinedecencylaws.Bill,beingtechnically
inclined,decidestouseanemailpoll.Inhispoll,95%ofthosesurveyedopposedthe
tax.Billwasquitesurprisedwhen65%ofallAmericansvotedforthetaxes.

Example#2:
TheUnitedPacifistsofAmericadecidetorunapolltodeterminewhatAmericansthink
aboutgunsandguncontrol.Janeisassignedthetaskofsettingupthestudy.Tosave
mailingcosts,sheincludesthesurveyforminthegroupsnewslettermailing.Sheisvery
pleasedtofindoutthat95%ofthosesurveyedfavorguncontrollawsandshetellsher
friendsthatthevastmajorityofAmericansfavorguncontrollaws.

Example#3:
LargescalepollsweretakeninFlorida,California,andMaineanditwasfoundthatan
averageof55%ofthosepolledspentatleastfourteendaysayearneartheocean.So,it
canbesafelyconcludedthat55%ofallAmericansspendatleastfourteendaysnearthe
oceaneachyear.

BurdenofProof
AlsoKnownAs:AppealtoIgnorance(AdIgnorantiam)
Description:
BurdenofProofisafallacyinwhichtheburdenofproofisplacedonthewrongside.
AnotherversionoccurswhenalackofevidenceforsideAistakentobeevidencefor
sideBincasesinwhichtheburdenofproofactuallyrestsonsideB.Acommonname
forthisisanAppealtoIgnorance.Thissortofreasoningtypicallyhasthefollowingform:

1.ClaimXispresentedbysideAandtheburdenofproofactuallyrestsonsideB.
2.SideBclaimsthatXisfalsebecausethereisnoproofforX.

Inmanysituations,onesidehastheburdenofproofrestingonit.Thissideisobligated
toprovideevidenceforitsposition.Theclaimoftheotherside,theonethatdoesnot
beartheburdenofproof,isassumedtobetrueunlessprovenotherwise.Thedifficulty
insuchcasesisdeterminingwhichside,ifany,theburdenofproofrestson.Inmany
cases,settlingthisissuecanbeamatterofsignificantdebate.Insomecasestheburden
ofproofissetbythesituation.Forexample,inAmericanlawapersonisassumedtobe
innocentuntilprovenguilty(hencetheburdenofproofisontheprosecution).As
anotherexample,indebatetheburdenofproofisplacedontheaffirmativeteam.Asa
finalexample,inmostcasestheburdenofproofrestsonthosewhoclaimsomething
exists(suchasBigfoot,psychicpowers,universals,andsensedata).

27
Example#1:
Bill:Ithinkthatweshouldinvestmoremoneyinexpandingtheinterstatesystem.
Jill:Ithinkthatwouldbeabadidea,consideringthestateofthetreasury.
Bill:Howcananyonebeagainsthighwayimprovements?

Example#2:
Bill:Ithinkthatsomepeoplehavepsychicpowers.
Jill:Whatisyourproof?
Bill:Noonehasbeenabletoprovethatpeopledonothavepsychicpowers.

Example#3:
YoucannotprovethatGoddoesnotexist,soHedoes.

CircumstantialAdHominem
Description:
ACircumstantialadHominemisafallacyinwhichoneattemptstoattackaclaimby
assertingthatthepersonmakingtheclaimismakingitsimplyoutofselfinterest.In
somecases,thisfallacyinvolvessubstitutinganattackonapersonscircumstances
(suchasthepersonsreligion,politicalaffiliation,ethnicbackground,etc.).Thefallacy
hasthefollowingforms:

1.PersonAmakesclaimX.
2.PersonBassertsthatAmakesclaimXbecauseitisinAsinteresttoclaimX.
3.ThereforeclaimXisfalse.

1.PersonAmakesclaimX.
2.PersonBmakesanattackonAscircumstances.
3.ThereforeXisfalse.

ACircumstantialadHominemisafallacybecauseapersonsinterestsand
circumstanceshavenobearingonthetruthorfalsityoftheclaimbeingmade.Whilea
personsinterestswillprovidethemwithmotivestosupportcertainclaims,theclaims
standorfallontheirown.Itisalsothecasethatapersonscircumstances(religion,
politicalaffiliation,etc.)donotaffectthetruthorfalsityoftheclaim.Thisismadequite
clearbythefollowingexample:Billclaimsthat1+1=2.ButheisaRepublican,sohis
claimisfalse.
Therearetimeswhenitisprudenttosuspiciousofapersonsclaims,suchaswhenitis
evidentthattheclaimsarebeingbiasedbythepersonsinterests.Forexample,ifa
tobaccocompanyrepresentativeclaimsthattobaccodoesnotcausecancer,itwouldbe
prudenttonotsimplyaccepttheclaim.Thisisbecausethepersonhasamotivationto
maketheclaim,whetheritistrueornot.However,themerefactthatthepersonhasa
motivationtomaketheclaimdoesnotmakeitfalse.Forexample,supposeaparent
tellshersonthatstickingaforkinalightsocketwouldbedangerous.Simplybecause
shehasamotivationtosaythisobviouslydoesnotmakeherclaimfalse.
28

Example#1:
Sheassertsthatweneedmoremilitaryspending,butthatisfalse,sincesheisonly
sayingitbecausesheisaRepublican.

Example#2:
IthinkthatweshouldrejectwhatFatherJoneshastosayabouttheethicalissuesof
abortionbecauseheisaCatholicpriest.Afterall,FatherJonesisrequiredtoholdsuch
views.

Example#3:
OfcoursetheSenatorfromMaineopposesareductioninnavalspending.Afterall,
BathIronworks,whichproduceswarships,isinMaine.

Example#4:
Billclaimsthattaxbreaksforcorporationsincreasesdevelopment.Ofcourse,Billisthe
CEOofacorporation.

FallacyofComposition
Description:
ThefallacyofCompositioniscommittedwhenaconclusionisdrawnaboutawhole
basedonthefeaturesofitsconstituentswhen,infact,nojustificationprovidedforthe
inference.Thereareactuallytwotypesofthisfallacy,bothofwhichareknownbythe
samename(becauseofthehighdegreeofsimilarity).
ThefirsttypeoffallacyofCompositionariseswhenapersonreasonsfromthe
characteristicsofindividualmembersofaclassorgrouptoaconclusionregardingthe
characteristicsoftheentireclassorgroup(takenasawhole).Moreformally,the
reasoningwouldlooksomethinglikethis.

1.IndividualFthingshavecharacteristicsA,B,C,etc.
2.Therefore,the(whole)classofFthingshascharacteristicsA,B,C,etc.

Thislineofreasoningisfallaciousbecausethemerefactthatindividualshavecertain
characteristicsdoesnot,initself,guaranteethattheclass(takenasawhole)hasthose
characteristics.
Itisimportanttonotethatdrawinganinferenceaboutthecharacteristicsofaclass
basedonthecharacteristicsofitsindividualmembersisnotalwaysfallacious.Insome
cases,sufficientjustificationcanbeprovidedtowarranttheconclusion.Forexample,it
istruethatanindividualrichpersonhasmorewealththananindividualpoorperson.In
somenations(suchastheUS)itistruethattheclassofwealthypeoplehasmorewealth
asawholethandoestheclassofpoorpeople.Inthiscase,theevidenceusedwould
warranttheinferenceandthefallacyofCompositionwouldnotbecommitted.
ThesecondtypeoffallacyofCompositioniscommittedwhenitisconcludedthat
whatistrueofthepartsofawholemustbetrueofthewholewithouttherebeing
29
adequatejustificationfortheclaim.Moreformally,thelineofreasoningwouldbeas
follows:

1.ThepartsofthewholeXhavecharacteristicsA,B,C,etc.
2.ThereforethewholeXmusthavecharacteristicsA,B,C.

Thissortofreasoningisfallaciousbecauseitcannotbeinferredthatsimplybecause
thepartsofacomplexwholehave(orlack)certainpropertiesthatthewholethatthey
arepartsofhasthoseproperties.Thisisespeciallyclearinmath:Thenumbers1and3
arebothodd.1and3arepartsof4.Therefore,thenumber4isodd.
Itmustbenotedthatreasoningfromthepropertiesofthepartstothepropertiesof
thewholeisnotalwaysfallacious.Ifthereisjustificationfortheinferencefrompartsto
whole,thenthereasoningisnotfallacious.Forexample,ifeverypartofthehuman
bodyismadeofmatter,thenitwouldnotbeanerrorinreasoningtoconcludethatthe
wholehumanbodyismadeofmatter.Similarly,ifeverypartofastructureismadeof
brick,thereisnofallacycommittedwhenoneconcludesthatthewholestructureis
madeofbrick.

Example#1:
Amainbattletankusesmorefuelthanacar.Therefore,themainbattletanksuseup
moreoftheavailablefuelintheworldthandoallthecars.

Example#2:
Atigereatsmorefoodthanahumanbeing.Therefore,tigers,asagroup,eatmorefood
thandoallthehumansontheearth.

Example#3:
Atomsarecolorless.Catsaremadeofatoms,socatsarecolorless.

Example#4:
Everyplayerontheteamisasuperstarandagreatplayer,sotheteamisagreatteam.
Thisisfallacioussincethesuperstarsmightnotbeabletoplaytogetherverywelland
hencetheycouldbealousyteam.

Example#5:
Eachpartoftheshow,fromthespecialeffectstotheactingisamasterpiece.So,the
wholeshowisamasterpiece.Thisisfallacioussinceashowcouldhavegreatacting,
greatspecialeffectsandsuch,yetstillfailtocometogethertomakeamasterpiece.

Example#6:
Comeon,youlikebeef,potatoes,andgreenbeans,soyouwilllikethisbeef,potato,and
greenbeencasserole.Thisisfallaciousforthesamereasonthatthefollowingis
fallacious:Youlikeeggs,icecream,pizza,cake,fish,jello,chicken,tacosauce,soda,

30
oranges,milk,eggrolls,andyogurtsoyoumustlikethisyummydishmadeoutofallof
them.

Example#7:
Sodiumandchlorinearebothdangeroustohumans.Thereforeanycombinationof
sodiumandchlorinewillbedangeroustohumans.

ConfusingCauseandEffect
AlsoKnownas:QuestionableCause,ReversingCausation
Description:
ConfusingCauseandEffectisafallacythathasthefollowinggeneralform:

1)AandBregularlyoccurtogether.
2)ThereforeAisthecauseofB.

Thisfallacyrequiresthattherenotbe,infact,acommoncausethatactuallycauses
bothAandB.
Thisfallacyiscommittedwhenapersonassumesthatoneeventmustcauseanother
justbecausetheeventsoccurtogether.Moreformally,thisfallacyinvolvesdrawingthe
conclusionthatAisthecauseofBsimplybecauseAandBareinregularconjunction
(andthereisnotacommoncausethatisactuallythecauseofAandB).Themistake
beingmadeisthatthecausalconclusionisbeingdrawnwithoutadequatejustification.
Insomecasesitwillbeevidentthatthefallacyisbeingcommitted.Forexample,a
personmightclaimthatanillnesswascausedbyapersongettingafever.Inthiscase,it
wouldbequiteclearthatthefeverwascausedbyillnessandnottheotherwayaround.
Inothercases,thefallacyisnotalwaysevident.Onefactorthatmakescausalreasoning
quitedifficultisthatitisnotalwaysevidentwhatisthecauseandwhatistheeffect.For
example,aproblemchildmightbethecauseoftheparentsbeingshorttemperedorthe
shorttemperoftheparentsmightbethecauseofthechildbeingproblematic.The
difficultyisincreasedbythefactthatsomesituationsmightinvolvefeedback.For
example,theparentstempermightcausethechildtobecomeproblematicandthe
childsbehaviorcouldworsentheparentstemper.Insuchcasesitcouldberather
difficulttosortoutwhatcausedwhatinthefirstplace.
Inordertodeterminethatthefallacyhasbeencommitted,itmustbeshownthatthe
causalconclusionhasnotbeenadequatelysupportedandthatthepersoncommitting
thefallacyhasconfusedtheactualcausewiththeeffect.Showingthatthefallacyhas
beencommittedwilltypicallyinvolvedeterminingtheactualcauseandtheactual
effect.Insomecases,asnotedabove,thiscanbequiteeasy.Inothercasesitwillbe
difficult.Insomecases,itmightbealmostimpossible.Anotherthingthatmakescausal
reasoningdifficultisthatpeopleoftenhaveverydifferentconceptionsofcauseand,in
somecases,theissuesarecloudedbyemotionsandideologies.Forexample,people
oftenclaimviolenceonTVandinmoviesmustbecensoredbecauseitcausespeopleto
likeviolence.OtherpeopleclaimthatthereisviolenceonTVandinmoviesbecause

31
peoplelikeviolence.Inthiscase,itisnotobviouswhatthecausereallyisandtheissue
iscloudedbythefactthatemotionsoftenrunhighonthisissue.
Whilecausalreasoningcanbedifficult,manyerrorscanbeavoidedwithduecareand
carefultestingprocedures.Thisisduetothefactthatthefallacyarisesbecausethe
conclusionisdrawnwithoutduecare.Onewaytoavoidthefallacyistopaycareful
attentiontothetemporalsequenceofevents.Since(outsideofStarTrek),effectsdo
notgenerallyprecedetheircauses,ifAoccursafterB,thenAcannotbethecauseofB.
However,thesemethodsgobeyondthescopeofthisprogram.
Allcausalfallaciesinvolveanerrorincausalreasoning.However,thisfallacydiffers
fromtheothercausalfallaciesintermsoftheerrorinreasoningbeingmade.Inthecase
ofaPostHocfallacy,theerroristhatapersonisacceptingthatAisthecauseofB
simplybecauseAoccursbeforeB.InthecaseoftheFallacyofIgnoringaCommonCause
AistakentobethecauseofBwhenthereis,infact,athirdfactorthatisthecauseof
bothAandB.Formoreinformation,seetherelevantentriesinthisprogram.

Example#1:
BillandJoearehavingadebateaboutmusicandmoraldecay:
Bill:Itseemscleartomethatthisnewmusiciscausingtheyouthtobecomecorrupt.
Joe:Whatdoyoumean?
Bill:Thisrapstuffisalwaystellingthekidstokillcops,dodrugs,andabusewomen.
Thatisallbadandthekidstodayshouldntbedoingthatsortofstuff.Weoughttoban
thatmusic!
Joe:So,youthinkthatgettingridoftherapmusicwouldsolvethedrug,violenceand
sexismproblemsintheUS?
Bill:Well,itwouldntgetridofitall,butitwouldtakecareofalotofit.
Joe:Dontyouthinkthatmostoftherapsingerssingaboutthatsortofstuffbecause
thatiswhatisreallygoingonthesedays?Imean,peopleoftensingaboutthe
conditionsoftheirtime,justlikethepeopledidinthesixties.ButthenIsupposethat
youthinkthatpeoplewereagainstthewarandintodrugsjustbecausetheylistenedto
DylanandBaez.
Bill:Well
Joe:Well,itseemstomethatthemaincauseofthecontentoftherapmusicisthe
preexistingsocialconditions.Iftherewerentalltheseproblems,therapsingers
probablywouldntbesingingaboutthem.Ialsothinkthatifthesocialconditionswere
great,kidscouldlistentothemusicalldayandnotbeaffected.
Joe:Well,Istillthinktherapmusiccausestheproblems.Youcantargueagainstthe
factthatsocialillsreallypickedupatthesametimerapmusicgotstarted.

Example#2:
Itisclaimedbysomepeoplethatsevereillnessiscausedbydepressionandanger.After
all,peoplewhoareseverelyillareveryoftendepressedandangry.Thus,itfollowsthat
thecauseofsevereillnessactuallyisthedepressionandanger.So,agoodandcheerful
attitudeiskeytostayinghealthy.

32
Example#3:
Billsetsoutseveralplateswithbreadonthem.Afteracoupledays,henoticesthatthe
breadhasmoldgrowingalloverit.Billconcludesthatthemoldwasproducedbythe
breadgoingbad.WhenBilltellshismotherabouthisexperiment,shetellshimthatthe
moldwasthecauseofthebreadgoingbadandthathebettercleanupthemessifhe
wantstogethisallowancethisweek.

FallacyofDivision
Description:
ThefallacyofDivisioniscommittedwhenapersoninfersthatwhatistrueofawhole
mustalsobetrueofitsconstituentsandjustificationforthatinferenceisnotprovided.
TherearetwomainvariantsofthegeneralfallacyofDivision:
ThefirsttypeoffallacyofDivisioniscommittedwhen1)apersonreasonsthatwhatis
trueofthewholemustalsobetrueofthepartsand2)thepersonfailstojustifythat
inferencewiththerequireddegreeofevidence.Moreformally,thereasoningfollows
thissortofpattern:

1.Thewhole,X,haspropertiesA,B,C,etc.
2.ThereforethepartsofXhavepropertiesA,B,C,etc.

Thatthislineofreasoningisfallaciousismadeclearbythefollowingcase:4isaneven
number.1and3arepartsof4.Therefore1and3areeven.
Itshouldbenotedthatitisnotalwaysfallacioustodrawaconclusionabouttheparts
ofawholebasedonthepropertiesofthewhole.Aslongasadequateevidenceis
providedintheargument,thereasoningcanbeacceptable.Forexample,thehuman
bodyismadeoutofmatteranditisreasonabletoinferfromthisthatthepartsthat
makeupthehumanbodyarealsomadeoutofmatter.Thisisbecausethereisno
reasontobelievethatthebodyismadeupofnonmaterialpartsthatsomehowform
matterwhentheygettogether.
Thesecondversionofthefallacyofdivisioniscommittedwhenaperson1)drawsa
conclusionaboutthepropertiesofindividualmembersofaclassorgroupbasedonthe
collectivepropertiesoftheclassorgroupand2)thereisnotenoughjustificationforthe
conclusion.Moreformally,thelineofreasoningisasfollows:

1.Asacollective,grouporclassXhaspropertiesA,B,C,etc.
2.ThereforetheindividualmembersofgrouporclassXhavepropertiesA,B,C,etc.

Thatthissortofreasoningisfallaciouscanbeeasilyshownbythefollowing:Itistrue
thatathletes,takenasagroup,arefootballplayers,trackrunners,swimmers,tennis
players,longjumpers,polevaultersandsuch.Butitwouldbefallacioustoinferthat
eachindividualathleteisafootballplayer,atrackrunner,aswimmer,atennisplayer,a
swimmer,etc.
Itshouldbenotedthatitisnotalwaysfallacioustodrawaconclusionaboutan
individualbasedonwhatistrueoftheclasshe/she/itbelongsto.Iftheinferenceis
33
backedbyevidence,thenthereasoningcanbefine.Forexample,itisnotfallaciousto
inferthatBilltheSiamesecatisamammalfromthefactthatallcatsaremammals.In
thiscase,whatistrueoftheclassisalsotrueofeachindividualmember.

Example#1:
Theballisblue,thereforetheatomsthatmakeituparealsoblue.

Example#2:
Alivingcellisorganicmaterial,sothechemicalsmakingupthecellmustalsobe
organicmaterial.

Example#3:
Billlivesinalargebuilding,sohisapartmentmustbelarge.

Example#4:
Sodiumchloride(tablesalt)maybesafelyeaten.Thereforeitsconstituentelements,
sodiumandchlorine,maybesafelyeaten.

Example#5:
AmericansusemuchmoreelectricitythanAfricansdo.SoBill,wholivesinprimitive
cabininMaine,usesmoreelectricitythanNelson,wholivesinamodernhouseinSouth
Africa.

Example#6:
Menreceivemorehighereducationthanwomen.ThereforeDr.JaneSmarthasless
highereducationthanMr.BillBuffoon.

Example#7:
MinoritiesgetpaidlessthanwhitesinAmerica.Therefore,theblackCEOofamulti
billiondollarcompanygetspaidlessthanthewhitejanitorwhocleanshisoffice.

FalseDilemma
AlsoKnownas:Black&WhiteThinking
Description:
AFalseDilemmaisafallacyinwhichapersonusesthefollowingpatternof
reasoning:

1.EitherclaimXistrueorclaimYistrue(whenXandYcouldbothbefalse).
2.ClaimYisfalse.
3.ThereforeclaimXistrue.

Thislineofreasoningisfallaciousbecauseifbothclaimscouldbefalse,thenit
cannotbeinferredthatoneistruebecausetheotherisfalse.Thatthisisthecaseis
madeclearbythefollowingexample:
34

1.Either1+1=4or1+1=12.
2.Itisnotthecasethat1+1=4.
3.Therefore1+1=12.

Incasesinwhichthetwooptionsare,infact,theonlytwooptions,thislineof
reasoningisnotfallacious.Forexample:

1.Billisdeadorheisalive.
2.Billisnotdead.
3.ThereforeBillisalive.

Example#1:
SenatorJill:Wellhavetocuteducationfundingthisyear.
SenatorBillWhy?
SenatorJill:Well,eitherwecutthesocialprogramsofwelivewithahugedeficitand
wecantlivewiththedeficit.

Example#2:
Bill:JillandIbothsupporthavingprayerinpublicschools.
Jill:Hey,Ineversaidthat!
Bill:YourenotanatheistareyouJill?

Example#3:
Look,youaregoingtohavetomakeupyourmind.Eitheryoudecidethatyoucan
affordthisstereo,oryoudecideyouaregoingtodowithoutmusicforawhile.

GamblersFallacy
Description:
TheGamblersFallacyiscommittedwhenapersonassumesthatadeparturefrom
whatoccursonaverageorinthelongtermwillbecorrectedintheshortterm.Theform
ofthefallacyisasfollows:

1.Xhashappened.
2.Xdepartsfromwhatisexpectedtooccuronaverageoroverthelongterm.
3.Therefore,Xwillcometoanendsoon.

Therearetwocommonwaysthisfallacyiscommitted.Inbothcasesapersonis
assumingthatsomeresultmustbeduesimplybecausewhathaspreviouslyhappened
departsfromwhatwouldbeexpectedonaverageoroverthelongterm.
Thefirstinvolveseventswhoseprobabilitiesofoccurringareindependentofone
another.Forexample,onetossofafair(twosides,nonloaded)coindoesnotaffectthe
nexttossofthecoin.So,eachtimethecoinistossedthereis(ideally)a50%chanceofit
35
landingheadsanda50%chanceofitlandingtails.Supposethatapersontossesacoin6
timesandgetsaheadeachtime.Ifheconcludesthatthenexttosswillbetailsbecause
tailsisdue,thenhewillhavecommittedtheGamblersFallacy.Thisisbecausethe
resultsofprevioustosseshavenobearingontheoutcomeofthe7thtoss.Ithasa50%
chanceofbeingheadsanda50%chanceofbeingtails,justlikeanyothertoss.
Thesecondinvolvescaseswhoseprobabilitiesofoccurringarenotindependentof
oneanother.Forexample,supposethataboxerhaswon50%ofhisfightsoverthepast
twoyears.Supposethatafterseveralfightshehaswon50%ofhismatchesthisyear,
thathehislosthislastsixfightsandhehassixleft.Ifapersonbelievedthathewould
winhisnextsixfightsbecausehehasuseduphislossesandisdueforavictory,then
hewouldhavecommittedtheGamblersFallacy.Afterall,thepersonwouldbeignoring
thefactthattheresultsofonematchcaninfluencetheresultsofthenextone.For
example,theboxermighthavebeeninjuredinonematchwhichwouldlowerhis
chancesofwinninghislastsixfights.
Itshouldbenotedthatnotallpredictionsaboutwhatislikelytooccurarefallacious.If
apersonhasgoodevidenceforhispredictions,thentheywillbereasonabletoaccept.
Forexample,ifapersontossesafaircoinandgetsnineheadsinarowitwouldbe
reasonableforhimtoconcludethathewillprobablynotgetanothernineinarow
again.Thisreasoningwouldnotbefallaciousaslongashebelievedhisconclusion
becauseofanunderstandingofthelawsofprobability.Inthiscase,ifheconcludedthat
hewouldnotgetanothernineheadsinarowbecausetheoddsofgettingnineheadsin
arowarelowerthangettingfewerthannineheadsinarow,thenhisreasoningwould
begoodandhisconclusionwouldbejustified.Hence,determiningwhetherornotthe
GamblersFallacyisbeingcommittedoftenrequiressomebasicunderstandingofthe
lawsofprobability.

Example#1:
BillisplayingagainstDouginaWWIItankbattlegame.Doughashadagreatstreakof
luckandhasbeenkillingBillstanksleftandrightwithgooddierolls.Bill,whohasa
fewtanksleft,decidestoriskallinadesperateattackonDoug.Heisabitworriedthat
Dougmightwipehimout,buthethinksthatsinceDougsluckatrollinghasbeengreat
Dougmustbedueforsomebaddicerolls.BilllauncheshisattackandDougbutchershis
forces.

Example#2:
JaneandBillaretalking:

Jane:IllbeabletobuythatcarIalwayswantedsoon.
Bill:Why,didyougetaraise?
Jane:No.ButyouknowhowIvebeenplayingthelotteryalltheseyears?
Bill:Yes,youbuyaticketforeverydrawing,withoutfail.
Jane:AndIvelosteverytime.
Bill:Sowhydoyouthinkyouwillwinthistime?
Jane:Well,afterallthoselossesImdueforawin.

36

Example#3:
JoeandSamareattheracetrackbettingonhorses.

Joe:Youseethathorseoverthere?Helosthislastfourraces.Imgoingtobetonhim.
Sam:Why?Ithinkhewillprobablylose.
Joe:Noway,Sam.Ilookedupthehorsesstatsandhehaswonhalfhisracesinthe
pasttwoyears.Sincehehaslostthreeofhislastfourraces,hellhavetowinthisrace.
SoImbettingthefarmonhim.
Sam:Areyousure?
Joe:OfcourseImsure.Thatponyisdue,manhesdue!

GeneticFallacy
Description:
AGeneticFallacyisalineofreasoninginwhichaperceiveddefectintheoriginofa
claimorthingistakentobeevidencethatdiscreditstheclaimorthingitself.Itisalsoa
lineofreasoninginwhichtheoriginofaclaimorthingistakentobeevidenceforthe
claimorthing.Thissortofreasoninghasthefollowingform:

1.Theoriginofaclaimorthingispresented.
2.Theclaimistrue(orfalse)orthethingissupported(ordiscredited).

Itisclearthatsortofreasoningisfallacious.Forexample:Billclaimsthat1+1=2.
However,myparentsbroughtmeuptobelievethat1+1=254,soBillmustbewrong.
Itshouldbenotedthattherearesomecasesinwhichtheoriginofaclaimisrelevant
tothetruthorfalsityoftheclaim.Forexample,aclaimthatcomesfromareliable
expertislikelytobetrue(provideditisinherareaofexpertise).

Example#1:
Yeah,theenvironmentalistsdoclaimthatoverdevelopmentcanleadtoallkindsof
seriousproblems.Butweallknowaboutthosedarnbunnyhuggersandtheirsilly
views!.

Example#2:
IwasbroughtuptobelieveinGod,andmyparentstoldmeGodexists,soHemust.

Example#3:
Sure,themediaclaimsthatSenatorBedfellowwastakingkickbacks.Butweallknow
aboutthemediascredibility,dontwe.

37
GuiltbyAssociation
AlsoKnownas:BadCompanyFallacy,CompanythatYouKeepFallacy
Description:
GuiltbyAssociationisafallacyinwhichapersonrejectsaclaimsimplybecauseitis
pointedoutthatpeopleshedislikesaccepttheclaim.Thissortofreasoninghasthe
followingform:

1.ItispointedoutthatpersonAacceptsclaimP.
2.ThereforePisfalse

Itisclearthatsortofreasoningisfallacious.Forexamplethefollowingisobviouslya
caseofpoorreasoning:Youthinkthat1+1=2.But,AdolfHitler,CharlesManson,
JosephStalin,andTedBundyallbelievedthat1+1=2.So,youshouldntbelieveit.
Thefallacydrawsitspowerfromthefactthatpeopledonotliketobeassociatedwith
peopletheydislike.Hence,ifitisshownthatapersonsharesabeliefwithpeoplehe
dislikeshemightbeinfluencedintorejectingthatbelief.Insuchcasesthepersonwillbe
rejectingtheclaimbasedonhowhethinksorfeelsaboutthepeoplewhoholditand
becausehedoesnotwanttobeassociatedwithsuchpeople.
Ofcourse,thefactthatsomeonedoesnotwanttobeassociatedwithpeopleshe
dislikesdoesnotjustifytherejectionofanyclaim.Forexample,mostwickedand
terriblepeopleacceptthattheearthrevolvesaroundthesunandthatleadisheavier
thanhelium.Nosanepersonwouldrejecttheseclaimssimplybecausethiswouldput
theminthecompanyofpeopletheydislike(orevenhate).

Example#1:
WillandKiteenaarearguingoversocialism.Kiteenaisapacifistandhatesviolenceand
violentpeople.

Kiteena:IthinkthattheUnitedStatesshouldcontinuetoadoptsocialistprograms.For
example,Ithinkthatthegovernmentshouldtakecontrolofvitalindustries.
Will:So,youareforstateownershipofindustry.
Kiteena:Certainly.Itisagreatideaandwillhelpmaketheworldalessviolentplace.
Will:Well,youknowStalinalsoendorsedstateownershiponindustry.Atlastcounthe
wipedoutmillionsofhisownpeople.PolPotofCambodiawasalsoforstateownership
ofindustry.Healsokilledmillionsofhisownpeople.TheleadershipofChinaisforstate
ownedindustry.Theykilledtheirownpeopleinthatsquare.So,areyoustillforstate
ownershipofindustry?
Kiteena:Oh,no!Idontwanttobeassociatedwiththosebutchers!

Example#2:
JenandSandyarediscussingthetopicofwelfare.Jenisfairlyconservativepoliticallybut
shehasbeenanactiveopponentofracism.Sandyisextremelyliberalpolitically.

38
Jen:IwasreadingoversomeprivatestudiesofwelfareandIthinkitwouldbebetterto
havepeopleworkfortheirwelfare.Forexample,peoplecouldpickuptrash,putup
signs,andmaybeevendoskilledlaborthattheyarequalifiedfor.Thiswouldprobably
makepeoplefeelbetteraboutthemselvesanditwouldgetmoreoutofourtaxmoney.
Sandy:Isee.So,youwanttohavethepoorpeopleoutonthestreetspickinguptrash
fortheirchecks?Well,youknowthatisexactlythepositionDavidCountendorses.
Jen:Whoishe?
Sandy:Imsurprisedyoudontknowhim,seeinghowalikeyoutwoare.Hewasa
GrandMookyWizardfortheAryanPureWhiteLeagueandiswellknownforhishatred
ofblacksandotherminorities.Withyourviews,youdfitrightintohislittleracistclub.
Jen:So,IshouldrejectmyviewjustbecauseIshareitwithsomeracist?
Sandy:Ofcourse.

Example#3:
LibardandFerrisarediscussingwhotheyaregoingtovoteforasthenextdepartment
chairinthephilosophydepartment.LibardisaradicalfeministandshedespisesWayne
andBill,whoaretwosexistprofessorsinthedepartment.

Ferris:So,whoareyougoingtovotefor?
Libard:Well,IwasthinkingaboutvotingforJane,sincesheisawomanandtherehas
neverbeenawomanchairhere.But,IthinkthatStevewilldoanexcellentjob.Hehasa
lotofcloutintheuniversityandheisadecentperson.
Ferris:Youknow,WayneandBillaresupportinghim.Theyreallyliketheideaofhaving
Steveasthenewchair.IneverthoughtIdseeyouandthosetwopigsonthesame
side.
Libard:Well,maybeitistimethatwehaveawomanaschair.

HastyGeneralization
AlsoKnownas:FallacyofInsufficientStatistics,FallacyofInsufficientSample,Leapingto
AConclusion,HastyInduction

Description:
Thisfallacyiscommittedwhenapersondrawsaconclusionaboutapopulationbased
onasamplethatisnotlargeenough.Ithasthefollowingform:

1.SampleS,whichistoosmall,istakenfrompopulationP.
2.ConclusionCisdrawnaboutPopulationPbasedonS.

Thepersoncommittingthefallacyismisusingthefollowingtypeofreasoning,whichis
knownvariouslyasInductiveGeneralization,Generalization,andStatistical
Generalization:

39
1.X%ofallobservedAsareBs.
2.ThereforeX%ofallAsareBs.

ThefallacyiscommittedwhennotenoughAsareobservedtowarranttheconclusion.
IfenoughAsareobservedthenthereasoningisnotfallacious.
Smallsampleswilltendtobeunrepresentative.Asablatantcase,askingoneperson
whatshethinksaboutguncontrolwouldclearlynotprovideanadequatesizedsample
fordeterminingwhatCanadiansingeneralthinkabouttheissue.Thegeneralideais
thatsmallsamplesarelesslikelytocontainnumbersproportionaltothewhole
population.Forexample,ifabucketcontainsblue,red,greenandorangemarbles,then
asampleofthreemarblescannotpossibleberepresentativeofthewholepopulationof
marbles.Asthesamplesizeofmarblesincreasesthemorelikelyitbecomesthat
marblesofeachcolorwillbeselectedinproportiontotheirnumbersinthewhole
population.Thesameholdstrueforthingsothersthanmarbles,suchaspeopleand
theirpoliticalviews.
SinceHastyGeneralizationiscommittedwhenthesample(theobservedinstances)is
toosmall,itisimportanttohavesamplesthatarelargeenoughwhenmakinga
generalization.Themostreliablewaytodothisistotakeaslargeasampleasis
practical.Therearenofixednumbersastowhatcountsasbeinglargeenough.Ifthe
populationinquestionisnotverydiverse(apopulationofclonedmice,forexample)
thenaverysmallsamplewouldsuffice.Ifthepopulationisverydiverse(people,for
example)thenafairlylargesamplewouldbeneeded.Thesizeofthesamplealso
dependsonthesizeofthepopulation.Obviously,averysmallpopulationwillnot
supportahugesample.Finally,therequiredsizewilldependonthepurposeofthe
sample.IfBillwantstoknowwhatJoeandJanethinkaboutguncontrol,thenasample
consistingofBillandJanewould(obviously)belargeenough.IfBillwantstoknowwhat
mostAustraliansthinkaboutguncontrol,thenasampleconsistingofBillandJane
wouldbefartoosmall.
PeopleoftencommitHastyGeneralizationsbecauseofbiasorprejudice.Forexample,
someonewhoisasexistmightconcludethatallwomenareunfittoflyjetfighters
becauseonewomancrashedone.PeoplealsocommonlycommitHastyGeneralizations
becauseoflazinessorsloppiness.Itisveryeasytosimplyleaptoaconclusionandmuch
hardertogatheranadequatesampleanddrawajustifiedconclusion.Thus,avoiding
thisfallacyrequiresminimizingtheinfluenceofbiasandtakingcaretoselectasample
thatislargeenough.
Onefinalpoint:aHastyGeneralization,likeanyfallacy,mighthaveatrueconclusion.
However,aslongasthereasoningisfallaciousthereisnoreasontoacceptthe
conclusionbasedonthatreasoning.

Example#1:
Smith,whoisfromEngland,decidestoattendgraduateschoolatOhioStateUniversity.
HehasneverbeentotheUSbefore.Thedayafterhearrives,heiswalkingbackfroman
orientationsessionandseestwowhite(albino)squirrelschasingeachotherarounda
tree.Inhisnextletterhome,hetellshisfamilythatAmericansquirrelsarewhite.

40

Example#2:
SamisridingherbikeinherhometowninMaine,mindingherownbusiness.Astation
wagoncomesupbehindherandthedriverstartsbeepinghishornandthentriesto
forceherofftheroad.Ashegoesby,thedriveryellsgetonthesidewalkwhereyou
belong!SamseesthatthecarhasOhioplatesandconcludesthatallOhiodriversare
jerks.

Example#3:
Bill:Youknow,thosefeministsallhatemen.
Joe:Really?
Bill:Yeah.IwasinmyphilosophyclasstheotherdayandthatRachelchickgavea
presentation.
Joe:WhichRachel?
Bill:Youknowher.ShestheonethatrunsthatfeministgroupoverattheWomens
Center.Shesaidthatmenareallsexistpigs.Iaskedherwhyshebelievedthisandshe
saidthatherlastfewboyfriendswererealsexistpigs.
Joe:Thatdoesntsoundlikeagoodreasontobelievethatallofusarepigs.
Bill:ThatwaswhatIsaid.
Joe:Whatdidshesay?
Bill:Shesaidthatshehadseenenoughofmentoknowweareallpigs.Sheobviously
hatesallmen.
Joe:Soyouthinkallfeministsarelikeher?
Bill:Sure.Theyallhatemen.

IgnoringaCommonCause
AlsoKnownas:QuestionableCause
Description:
Thisfallacyhasthefollowinggeneralstructure:

1)AandBareregularlyconnected(butnothird,commoncauseislookedfor).
2)ThereforeAisthecauseofB.

Thisfallacyiscommittedwhenitisconcludedthatonethingcausesanothersimply
becausetheyareregularlyassociated.Moreformally,thisfallacyiscommittedwhenitis
concludedthatAisthecauseofBsimplybecauseAandBareregularlyconnected.
Further,thecausalconclusionisdrawnwithoutconsideringthepossibilitythatathird
factormightbethecauseofbothAandB.
Inmanycases,thefallacyisquiteevident.Forexample,ifapersonclaimedthata
personssneezingwascausedbyherwateryeyesandhesimplyignoredthefactthat
thewomanwasstandinginahayfield,hewouldhavefallenpreytothefallacyof
ignoringacommoncause.Inthiscase,itwouldbereasonabletoconcludethatthe
womanssneezingandwateringeyeswascausedbyanallergicreactionofsomekind.In
othercases,itisnotasevidentthatthefallacyisbeingcommitted.Forexample,a
41
doctormightfindalargeamountofbacteriainoneofherpatientsandconcludethat
thebacteriaarethecauseofthepatientsillness.However,itmightturnoutthatthe
bacteriaareactuallyharmlessandthatavirusisweakeningtheperson,Thus,the
viruseswouldbetheactualcauseoftheillnessandgrowthofthebacteria(theviruses
wouldweakentheabilityofthepersonsbodytoresistthegrowthofthebacteria).
Asnotedinthediscussionofothercausalfallacies,causalityisaratherdifficult
matter.However,itispossibletoavoidthisfallacybytakingduecare.Inthecaseof
IgnoringaCommonCause,thekeytoavoidingthisfallacyistobecarefultocheckfor
otherfactorsthatmightbetheactualcauseofboththesuspectedcauseandthe
suspectedeffect.Ifapersonfailstocheckforthepossibilityofacommoncause,then
theywillcommitthisfallacy.Thus,itisalwaysagoodideatoalwaysaskcouldtherebe
athirdfactorthatisactuallycausingbothAandB?

Example#1:
OnedayBillwakesupwithafever.Afewhourslaterhefindsthathismusclesaresore.
Heconcludesthatthefevermusthavecausedthesoreness.Hisfriendinsiststhatthe
sorenessandthefeverarecausedbysomemicrobe.Billlaughsatthisandinsiststhatif
hespendsthedayinatubofcoldwaterhissorenesswillgoaway.

Example#2:
OverthecourseofseveralweekstheleavesfromthetreesalongtheWombatriverfell
intothewater.Shortlythereafter,manydeadfishwereseenfloatingintheriver.When
theEPAinvestigated,theownersoftheWombatRiverChemicalCompanyclaimedthat
isitwasobviousthattheleaveshadkilledthefish.Manylocalenvironmentalists
claimedthatthechemicalplantstoxicwastescausedboththetreesandthefishtodie
andthattheleaveshadnorealeffectonthefish.

Example#3:
AthunderstormwakesJoeupinthemiddleofthenight.Hegoesdownstairstoget
somemilktohelphimgetbacktosleep.Onthewaytotherefrigerator,henoticesthat
thebarometerhasfallenagreatdeal.Joeconcludesthatthestormcausedthe
barometertofall.Inthemorninghetellshiswifeabouthisconclusion.Shetellshim
thatitwasadropinatmosphericpressurethatcausedthebarometertodropandthe
storm.

MiddleGround
AlsoKnownas:GoldenMeanFallacy,FallacyofModeration
Description:
Thisfallacyiscommittedwhenitisassumedthatthemiddlepositionbetweentwo
extremesmustbecorrectsimplybecauseitisthemiddleposition.thissortof
reasoninghasthefollowingform:

1.PositionAandBaretwoextremepositions.
2.CisapositionthatrestsinthemiddlebetweenAandB.
42
3.ThereforeCisthecorrectposition.

Thislineofreasoningisfallaciousbecauseitdoesnotfollowthatapositionis
correctjustbecauseitliesinthemiddleoftwoextremes.Thisisshownbythefollowing
example.Supposethatapersonissellinghiscomputer.Hewantstosellitforthe
currentmarketvalue,whichis$800andsomeoneoffershim$1forit.Itwouldhardly
followthat$400.50istheproperprice.
Thisfallacydrawsitspowerfromthefactthatamoderateormiddlepositionisoften
thecorrectone.Forexample,amoderateamountofexerciseisbetterthantoomuch
exerciseortoolittleexercise.However,thisisnotsimplybecauseitliesinthemiddle
groundbetweentwoextremes.Itisbecausetoomuchexerciseisharmfulandtoolittle
exerciseisallbutuseless.Thebasicideabehindmanycasesinwhichmoderationis
correctisthattheextremesaretypicallytoomuchandnotenoughandthemiddle
positionisenough.Insuchcasesthemiddlepositioniscorrectalmostbydefinition.
Itshouldbekeptinmindthatwhileuncriticallyassumingthatthemiddleposition
mustbecorrectbecauseitisthemiddlepositionispoorreasoningitdoesnotfollow
thatacceptingamiddlepositionisalwaysfallacious.Aswasjustmentioned,manytimes
amoderatepositioniscorrect.However,theclaimthatthemoderateormiddleposition
iscorrectmustbesupportedbylegitimatereasoning.

Example#1:
SomepeopleclaimthatGodisallpowerful,allknowing,andallgood.Otherpeople
claimthatGoddoesnotexistatall.Now,itseemsreasonabletoacceptaposition
somewhereinthemiddle.So,itislikelythatGodexists,butthatheisonlyvery
powerful,veryknowing,andverygood.Thatseemsrighttome.

Example#2:
CongressmanJoneshasproposedcuttingwelfarepaymentsby50%while
CongresswomanShenderhasproposedincreasingwelfarepaymentsby10%tokeepup
withinflationandcostoflivingincreases.Ithinkthatthebestproposalistheonemade
byCongressmanTrumple.Hesaysthata30%decreaseinwelfarepaymentsisagood
middleground,soIthinkthatiswhatweshouldsupport.

Example#3:
Amonthago,atreeinBillsyardwasdamagedinastorm.Hisneighbor,Joe,askedhim
tohavethetreecutdownsoitwouldnotfallonJoesnewshed.Billrefusedtodothis.
TwodayslateranotherstormblewthetreeontoJoesnewshed.Joedemandedthat
Joepaythecostofrepairs,whichwas$250.Billsaidthathewasntgoingtopayacent.
Obviously,thebestsolutionistoreachacompromisebetweenthetwoextremes,soBill
shouldpayJoe$125.

43
MisleadingVividness
Description:
MisleadingVividnessisafallacyinwhichaverysmallnumberofparticularlydramatic
eventsaretakentooutweighasignificantamountofstatisticalevidence.Thissortof
reasoninghasthefollowingform:

1.DramaticorvivideventXoccurs(andisnotinaccordwiththemajorityofthe
statisticalevidence).
2.ThereforeeventsoftypeXarelikelytooccur.

Thissortofreasoningisfallaciousbecausethemerefactthataneventisparticularly
vividordramaticdoesnotmaketheeventmorelikelytooccur,especiallyinthefaceof
significantstatisticalevidence.
Peopleoftenacceptthissortofreasoningbecauseparticularlyvividordramatic
casestendtomakeaverystrongimpressiononthehumanmind.Forexample,ifa
personsurvivesaparticularlyawfulplanecrash,hemightbeinclinedtobelievethatair
travelismoredangerousthanotherformsoftravel.Afterall,explosionsandpeople
dyingaroundhimwillhaveamoresignificantimpactonhismindthanwilltherather
dullstatisticsthatapersonismorelikelytobestruckbylightningthankilledinaplane
crash.
Itshouldbekeptinmindthattakingintoaccountthepossibilityofsomething
dramaticorvividoccurringisnotalwaysfallacious.Forexample,apersonmightdecide
tonevergoskydivingbecausetheeffectsofanaccidentcanbevery,verydramatic.If
heknowsthat,statistically,thechancesoftheaccidentarehappeningareverylowbut
heconsidersevenasmallrisktobeunacceptable,thenhewouldnotbemakinganerror
inreasoning.

Example#1:
BillandJanearetalkingaboutbuyingacomputer.

Jane:Ivebeenthinkingaboutgettingacomputer.Imreallytiredofhavingtowaitin
thelibrarytowritemypapers.
Bill:Whatsortofcomputerdoyouwanttoget?
Jane:Well,ithastobeeasytouse,havealowpriceandhavedecentprocessing
power.IvebeenthinkingaboutgettingaKiwiFruit2200.Ireadinthatconsumer
magazinethattheyhavebeenfoundtobeveryreliableinsixindependentindustry
studies.
Bill:IwouldntgettheKiwiFruit.Afriendofmineboughtoneamonthagotofinishhis
mastersthesis.HewashalfwaythroughitwhensmokestartedpouringoutoftheCPU.
Hedidntgethisthesisdoneontimeandhelosthisfinancialaid.Nowhesworkingover
attheGutBoyBurgerWarehouse.
Jane:IguessIwontgowiththeKiwi!

44
Example#2:
JoeandDrewaretalkingaboutflying.

Joe:WhenIwasflyingbacktoschool,thepilotcameontheintercomandtoldusthat
theplanewashavingenginetrouble.IlookedoutthewindowandIsawsmokebillowing
outoftheenginenearestme.Wehadtomakeanemergencylandingandtherewere
firetruckseverywhere.Ihadtospendthenextsixhourssittingintheairportwaitingfor
aflight.IwasluckyIdidntdie!Imneverflyingagain.
Drew:SohowareyougoingtogethomeoverChristmasbreak?
Joe:Imgoingtodrive.Thatwillbealotsaferthanflying.
Drew:Idontthinkso.Youaremuchmorelikelytogetinjuredorkilleddrivingthan
flying.
Joe:Idontbuythat!Youshouldhaveseenthesmokepouringoutofthatengine!Im
nevergettingononeofthosedeathtrapsagain!

Example#3:
JaneandSaraharetalkingaboutrunninginanearbypark.

Jane:DidyouhearaboutthatwomanwhowasattackedinTuttlePark?
Sarah:Yes.Itwasterrible.
Jane:Dontyourunthereeveryday?
Sarah:Yes.
Jane:Howcanyoudothat?Idneverbeabletorunthere!
Sarah:Well,ascallousasthismightsound,thatattackwasoutoftheordinary.Ive
beenrunningthereforthreeyearsandthishasbeentheonlyattack.Sure,Iworryabout
beingattacked,butImnotgoinggiveupmyrunningjustbecausethereissomeslight
chanceIllbeattacked.
Sarah:Thatisstupid!IdstayawayfromthatparkifIwasyou!Thatwomanwasreally
beatupbadlysoyouknowitisgoingtohappenagain.Ifyoudontstayoutofthatpark,
itwillprobablyhappentoyou!

PeerPressure
Description:
PeerPressureisafallacyinwhichathreatofrejectionbyonespeers(orpeer
pressure)issubstitutedforevidenceinanargument.Thislineofreasoninghasthe
followingform:

1.PersonPispressuredbyhis/herpeersorthreatenedwithrejection.
2.ThereforepersonPsclaimXisfalse.

Thislineofreasoningisfallaciousbecausepeerpressureandthreatofrejectiondo
notconstituteevidenceforrejectingaclaim.Thisisespeciallyclearinthefollowing
example:

45
Joe:Bill,Iknowyouthinkthat1+1=2.Butwedontacceptthatsortofthinginour
group.
Bill:Iwasjustjoking.OfcourseIdontbelievethat.

ItisclearthatthepressurefromBillsgrouphasnobearingonthetruthoftheclaim
that1+1=2.

Itshouldbenotedthatloyaltytoagroupandtheneedtobelongcangivepeoplevery
strongreasonstoconformtotheviewsandpositionsofthosegroups.Further,froma
practicalstandpointwemustoftencompromiseourbeliefsinordertobelongtogroups.
However,thisfeelingofloyaltyortheneedtobelongsimplydonotconstituteevidence
foraclaim.

Example#1:
Billsaysthathelikestheideathatpeopleshouldworkfortheirwelfarewhentheycan.
Hisfriendslaughathim,accusehimoffascistleanings,andthreatentoostracizehim
fromtheirgroup.Hedecidestorecantandabandonhispositiontoavoidrejection.

Example#2:
Bill:IlikeclassicalmusicandIthinkitisofhigherqualitythanmostmodernmusic.
Jill:Thatstuffisforoldpeople.
Dave:Yeah,onlyrealsissymonkeyslistentothatcrap.Besides,Anthraxrules!It
Rules!
Bill:Well,Idontreallylikeitthatmuch.Anthraxismuchbetter.

Example#3:
Billthinksthatwelfareisneededinsomecases.HisfriendsintheYoungRepublicans
taunthimeverytimehemakeshisviewsknown.Heacceptstheirviewsinorderto
avoidrejection.

PersonalAttack
AlsoKnownas:AdHominemAbusive
Description:
Apersonalattackiscommittedwhenapersonsubstitutesabusiveremarksfor
evidencewhenattackinganotherpersonsclaimorclaims.Thislineofreasoningis
fallaciousbecausetheattackisdirectedatthepersonmakingtheclaimandnotthe
claimitself.Thetruthvalueofaclaimisindependentofthepersonmakingtheclaim.
Afterall,nomatterhowrepugnantanindividualmightbe,heorshecanstillmaketrue
claims.
NotalladHominemsarefallacious.Insomecases,anindividualscharacteristicscan
haveabearingonthequestionoftheveracityofherclaims.Forexample,ifsomeoneis
showntobeapathologicalliar,thenwhathesayscanbeconsideredtobeunreliable.

46
However,suchattacksareweak,sinceevenpathologicalliarsmightspeakthetruthon
occasion.
Ingeneral,itisbesttofocusonesattentiononthecontentoftheclaimandnoton
whomadetheclaim.Itisthecontentthatdeterminesthetruthoftheclaimandnotthe
characteristicsofthepersonmakingtheclaim.

Example#1:
Inaschooldebate,BillclaimsthatthePresidentseconomicplanisunrealistic.His
opponent,aprofessor,retortsbysayingthefreshmanhashisfactswrong.

Example#2:
Thistheoryaboutapotentialcureforcancerhasbeenintroducedbyadoctorwhoisa
knownlesbianfeminist.Idontseewhyweshouldextendaninvitationforhertospeak
attheWorldConferenceonCancer.

Example#3:
Billsaysthatweshouldgivetaxbreakstocompanies.Butheisuntrustworthy,soit
mustbewrongtodothat.

Example#4:
Thatclaimcannotbetrue.Davebelievesit,andweknowhowmorallyrepulsiveheis.

Example#5:
BillclaimsthatJanewouldbeagoodtreasurer.HoweverIfindBillsbehavioroffensive,
soImnotgoingtovoteforJill.

Example#6
Janesaysthatdruguseismorallywrong,butsheisjustagoodytwoshoesChristian,so
wedonthavetolistentoher.

Example#7
Bill:Idontthinkitisagoodideatocutsocialprograms.
Jill:Whynot?
Bill:Well,manypeopledonotgetafairstartinlifeandhenceneedsomehelp.After
all,somepeoplehavewealthyparentsandhaveitfairlyeasy.Othersareborninto
povertyand
Jill:Youjustsaythatstuffbecauseyouhaveasoftheartandanequallysofthead.

PoisoningtheWell
Description:
Thissortofreasoninginvolvestryingtodiscreditwhatapersonmightlaterclaimby
presentingunfavorableinformation(beittrueorfalse)abouttheperson.This
argumenthasthefollowingform:

47
1.Unfavorableinformation(beittrueorfalse)aboutpersonAispresented.
2.ThereforeanyclaimspersonAmakeswillbefalse.

Thissortofreasoningisobviouslyfallacious.Thepersonmakingsuchanattackis
hopingthattheunfavorableinformationwillbiaslistenersagainstthepersonin
questionandhencethattheywillrejectanyclaimshemightmake.However,merely
presentingunfavorableinformationaboutaperson(evenifitistrue)hardlycountsas
evidenceagainsttheclaimshe/shemightmake.ThisisespeciallyclearwhenPoisoning
theWellislookedatasaformofadHomineminwhichtheattackismadepriortothe
personevenmakingtheclaimorclaims.Thefollowingexampleclearlyshowsthatthis
sortofreasoningisquitepoor.

Example#1:
Dontlistentohim,hesascoundrel.

Example#2:
Beforeturningthefloorovertomyopponent,Iaskyoutorememberthatthosewho
opposemyplansdonothavethebestwishesoftheuniversityatheart.

Example#3:
Youaretold,priortomeetinghim,thatyourfriendsboyfriendisadecadentwastrel.
Whenyoumeethim,everythingyouhearhimsayistainted.

Example#4
Beforeclass
Bill:Boy,thatprofessorisarealjerk.IthinkheissomesortofEurocentricfascist.
Jill:Yeah.
DuringClass:
Prof.Jones:andsoweseethattherewasneveranyGoldenAgeofMatriarchyin
1895inAmerica.
AfterClass:
Bill:SeewhatImean?
Jill:Yeah.TheremusthavebeenaGoldenAgeofMatriarchy,sincethatjerksaidthere
wasnt.

PostHoc
AlsoKnownas:PostHocErgoPropterHoc,FalseCause,QuestionableCause,Confusing
CoincidentalRelationshipsWithCauses
Description:
APostHocisafallacywiththefollowingform:

1)AoccursbeforeB.
2)ThereforeAisthecauseofB.

48
 ThePostHocfallacyderivesitsnamefromtheLatinphrasePosthoc,ergopropter
hoc.ThishasbeentraditionallyinterpretedasAfterthis,thereforebecauseofthis.
Thisfallacyiscommittedwhenitisconcludedthatoneeventcausesanothersimply
becausetheproposedcauseoccurredbeforetheproposedeffect.Moreformally,the
fallacyinvolvesconcludingthatAcausesorcausedBbecauseAoccursbeforeBand
thereisnotsufficientevidencetoactuallywarrantsuchaclaim.
ItisevidentinmanycasesthatthemerefactthatAoccursbeforeBinnoway
indicatesacausalrelationship.Forexample,supposeJill,whoisinLondon,sneezedat
theexactsametimeanearthquakestartedinCalifornia.Itwouldclearlybeirrationalto
arrestJillforstartinganaturaldisaster,sincethereisnoreasontosuspectanycausal
connectionbetweenthetwoevents.Whilesuchcasesarequiteobvious,thePostHoc
fallacyisfairlycommonbecausetherearecasesinwhichtheremightbesome
connectionbetweentheevents.Forexample,apersonwhohashercomputercrash
aftersheinstallsanewpieceofsoftwarewouldprobablysuspectthatthesoftwarewas
toblame.Ifshesimplyconcludedthatthesoftwarecausedthecrashbecauseitwas
installedbeforethecrashshewouldbecommittingthePostHocfallacy.Insuchcases
thefallacywouldbecommittedbecausetheevidenceprovidedfailstojustify
acceptanceofthecausalclaim.Itiseventheoreticallypossibleforthefallacytobe
committedwhenAreallydoescauseB,providedthattheevidencegivenconsistsonly
oftheclaimthatAoccurredbeforeB.ThekeytothePostHocfallacyisnotthatthereis
nocausalconnectionbetweenAandB.Itisthatadequateevidencehasnotbeen
providedforaclaimthatAcausesB.Thus,PostHocresemblesaHastyGeneralizationin
thatitinvolvesmakingaleaptoanunwarrantedconclusion.InthecaseofthePostHoc
fallacy,thatleapistoacausalclaiminsteadofageneralproposition.
Notsurprisingly,manysuperstitionsareprobablybasedonPostHocreasoning.For
example,supposeapersonbuysagoodluckcharm,doeswellonhisexam,andthen
concludesthatthegoodluckcharmcausedhimtodowell.Thispersonwouldhave
fallenvictimtothePostHocfallacy.Thisisnottosaythatallsuperstitionshaveno
basisatall.Forexample,somefolkcureshaveactuallybeenfoundtowork.
PostHocfallaciesaretypicallycommittedbecausepeoplearesimplynotcareful
enoughwhentheyreason.Leapingtoacausalconclusionisalwayseasierandfaster
thanactuallyinvestigatingthephenomenon.However,suchleapstendtolandfarfrom
thetruthofthematter.BecausePostHocfallaciesarecommittedbydrawingan
unjustifiedcausalconclusion,thekeytoavoidingthemiscarefulinvestigation.Whileit
istruethatcausesprecedeeffects(outsideofStarTrek,anyway),itisnottruethat
precedencemakessomethingacauseofsomethingelse.Becauseofthis,acausal
investigationshouldbeginwithfindingwhatoccursbeforetheeffectinquestion,butit
shouldnotendthere.

Example#1:
Ihadbeendoingprettypoorlythisseason.Thenmygirlfriendgavemethisneonlaces
formyspikesandIwonmynextthreeraces.ThoselacesmustbegoodluckifIkeepon
wearingthemIcanthelpbutwin!

49
Example#2:
BillpurchasesanewPowerMacanditworksfineformonths.Hethenbuysandinstallsa
newpieceofsoftware.ThenexttimehestartsuphisMac,itfreezes.Billconcludesthat
thesoftwaremustbethecauseofthefreeze.

Example#3:
Joanisscratchedbyacatwhilevisitingherfriend.Twodayslatershecomesdownwith
afever.Joanconcludesthatthecatsscratchmustbethecauseofherillness.

Example#4:
TheRepublicanspassanewtaxreformlawthatbenefitswealthyAmericans.Shortly
thereaftertheeconomytakesanosedive.TheDemocratsclaimthatthetaxreform
causedtheeconomicwoesandtheypushtogetridofit.

Example#5:
ThepictureonJimsoldTVsetgoesoutoffocus.JimgoesoverandstrikestheTV
soundlyonthesideandthepicturegoesbackintofocus.Jimtellshisfriendthathitting
theTVfixedit.

Example#6:
Janegetsaratherlargewartonherfinger.Basedonastoryherfathertoldher,shecuts
apotatoinhalf,rubsitonthewartandthenburiesitunderthelightofafullmoon.
Overthenextmonthherwartshrinksandeventuallyvanishes.Janewritesherfatherto
tellhimhowrighthewasaboutthecure.

QuestionableCause
Description:
Thisfallacyhasthefollowinggeneralform:

1)AandBareassociatedonaregularbasis.
2)ThereforeAisthecauseofB.

Thegeneralideabehindthisfallacyisthatitisanerrorinreasoningtoconcludethat
onethingcausesanothersimplybecausethetwoareassociatedonaregularbasis.
Moreformally,thisfallacyiscommittedwhenitisconcludedthatAisthecauseofB
simplybecausetheyareassociatedonaregularbasis.Theerrorbeingmadeisthata
causalconclusionisbeingdrawnfrominadequateevidence.
TheQuestionableCauseFallacyisactuallyageneraltypeoffallacy.Anycausalfallacy
thatinvolvesanerrorinareasoningduetoafailuretoadequatelyinvestigatethe
suspectedcauseisafallacyofthistype.Thus,fallacieslikePostHocandConfusing
CauseandEffectarespecificexamplesofthegeneralQuestionableCauseFallacy.
Causalreasoningcanbequitedifficultsincecausationisarathercomplexphilosophic
issue.Thecomplexityofcausationisbrieflydiscussedinthecontextofthespecific
versionsofthisfallacy.
50
 ThekeytoavoidingtheQuestionableCausefallacyistotakeduecareindrawing
causalconclusions.Thisrequirestakingstepstoadequatelyinvestigatethephenomena
inquestionaswellusingthepropermethodsofcarefulinvestigation.

Example#1:
Joegetsachainletterthatthreatenshimwithdireconsequencesifhebreaksthechain.
Helaughsatitandthrowsitinthegarbage.Onhiswaytoworkheslipsandbreakshis
leg.Whenhegetsbackfromthehospitalhesendsout200copiesofthechainletter,
hopingtoavoidfurtheraccidents.

Example#2:
Wheninvestigatingasmallpondagroupofgraduatestudentsfoundthattherewasa
severedropinthefishpopulation.Furtherinvestigationrevealedthatthefishesfood
supplyhadalsobeenseverelyreduced.Atfirstthestudentsbelievedthatthelackof
foodwaskillingthefish,butthentheyrealizedtheyhadtofindwhatwascausingthe
declineinthefoodsupply.Thestudentssuspectedacidrainwasthecauseofboththe
reductioninthefishpopulationaswellasthefoodsupply.However,thelocalbusiness
councilinsistedthatitwasjustthelackoffoodthatcausedthereductioninthefish
population.Mostofthetownspeopleagreedwiththisconclusionsinceitseemedpretty
obviousthatalackoffoodwouldcausefishtodie.

RedHerring
AlsoKnownas:SmokeScreen,WildGooseChase

Description:
ARedHerringisafallacyinwhichanirrelevanttopicispresentedinordertodivert
attentionfromtheoriginalissue.Thebasicideaistowinanargumentbyleading
attentionawayfromtheargumentandtoanothertopic.Thissortofreasoninghasthe
followingform:

1.TopicAisunderdiscussion.
2.TopicBisintroducedundertheguiseofbeingrelevanttotopicA(whentopicBis
actuallynotrelevanttotopicA).
3.TopicAisabandoned.

Thissortofreasoningisfallaciousbecausemerelychangingthetopicofdiscussion
hardlycountsasanargumentagainstaclaim.

Example#1:
Argumentagainstabondmeasure:

Weadmitthatthismeasureispopular.Butwealsourgeyoutonotethatthereareso
manybondissuesonthisballotthatthewholethingisgettingridiculous.

51
Example#2:
Argumentforataxcut:

Youknow,IvebeguntothinkthatthereissomemeritintheRepublicanstaxcutplan.
Isuggestthatyoucomeupwithsomethinglikeit,becauseIfweDemocratsaregoingto
surviveasaparty,wehavegottoshowthatweareastoughmindedasthe
Republicans,sincethatiswhatthepublicwants.

Example#3:
Argumentformakinggradschoolrequirementsstricter:
Ithinkthereisgreatmeritinmakingtherequirementsstricterforthegraduate
students.Irecommendthatyousupportit,too.Afterall,weareinabudgetcrisisand
wedonotwantoursalariesaffected.

RelativistFallacy
AlsoKnownas:TheSubjectivistFallacy
Description:
TheRelativistFallacyiscommittedwhenapersonrejectsaclaimbyassertingthatthe
claimmightbetrueforothersbutisnotforhim/her.Thissortofreasoninghasthe
followingform:

1.ClaimXispresented.
2.PersonAassertsthatXmaybetrueforothersbutisnottrueforhim/her.
3.ThereforeAisjustifiedinrejectingX.

Inthiscontext,relativismistheviewthattruthisrelativetoZ(aperson,time,culture,
place,etc.).Thisisnottheviewthatclaimswillbetrueatdifferenttimesorofdifferent
people,buttheviewthataclaimcouldbetrueforonepersonandfalseforanotherat
thesametime.
Inmanycases,whenpeoplesaythatXistrueformewhattheyreallymeanisI
believeXorXistrueaboutme.Itisimportanttobequiteclearaboutthedistinction
betweenbeingtrueaboutapersonandbeingtrueforaperson.Aclaimistrueabouta
personiftheclaimisastatementthatdescribesthepersoncorrectly.Forexample,Bill
hasblueeyesistrueofBillifBillhasblueeyes.TomakeaclaimsuchasXistruefor
BillistosaythattheclaimistrueforBillandthatitneednotbetrueforothers.For
example:1+1=23istrueforBillwouldmeanthat,forBill,1+1actuallydoesequal23,
notthathemerelybelievesthat1+1=23(thatwouldbeItistrueofBillthathebelieves
1+1=23).AnotherexamplewouldbeTheclaimthattheearthisflatistrueforBill
wouldmeanthattheearthreallyisflatforBill(inotherwords,Billwouldbeina
differentworldthantherestofthehumanrace).Sincethesesituations(1+1being23
andtheearthbeingflatforBill)areextremelystrange,itcertainlyseemsthattruthis
notrelativetoindividuals(althoughbeliefsare).

52
 Aslongastruthisobjective(thatis,notrelativetoindividuals),thentheRelativist
Fallacyisafallacy.Iftherearecasesinwhichtruthisactuallyrelative,thensuch
reasoningneednotbefallacious.

Example#1:
Jill:Lookatthis,Bill.Ireadthatpeoplewhodonotgetenoughexercisetendtobe
unhealthy.
Bill:Thatmaybetrueforyou,butitisnottrueforme.

Example#2:
Jill:Ithinkthatsocalledargumentyouusedtodefendyourpositionisterrible.After
all,afallacyhardlycountsasanargument.
Bill:Thatmaybetrueforyou,butitisnottrueforme.

Example#3:
Bill:Yourpositionresultsinacontradiction,soIcantacceptit.
Dave:ContradictionsmaybebadinyourEurocentric,oppressive,logicalworldview,
butIdontthinktheyarebad.Thereforemypositionisjustfine.

SlipperySlope
AlsoKnownas:TheCamelsNose
Description:
TheSlipperySlopeisafallacyinwhichapersonassertsthatsomeeventmust
inevitablyfollowfromanotherwithoutanyargumentfortheinevitabilityoftheeventin
question.Inmostcases,thereareaseriesofstepsorgradationsbetweenoneeventand
theoneinquestionandnoreasonisgivenastowhytheinterveningstepsorgradations
willsimplybebypassed.Thisargumenthasthefollowingform:

1.EventXhasoccurred(orwillormightoccur).
2.ThereforeeventYwillinevitablyhappen.

Thissortofreasoningisfallaciousbecausethereisnoreasontobelievethatone
eventmustinevitablyfollowfromanotherwithoutanargumentforsuchaclaim.Thisis
especiallyclearincasesinwhichthereareasignificantnumberofstepsorgradations
betweenoneeventandanother.

Example#1:
Wehavetostopthetuitionincrease!Thenextthingyouknow,theyllbecharging
$40,000asemester!

Example#2:
Europeshouldntgetinvolvedmilitarilyinothercountries.Oncethegovernmentssend
inafewtroops,thentheywillsendinthousandstodie.

53
Example#3:
Youcannevergiveanyoneabreak.Ifyoudo,theyllwalkalloveryou.

Example#4:
Wevegottostopthemfrombanningpornographicwebsites.Oncetheystartbanning
that,theywillneverstop.Nextthingyouknow,theywillbeburningallthebooks!

SpecialPleading
Description:
SpecialPleadingisafallacyinwhichapersonappliesstandards,principles,rules,etc.
tootherswhiletakingherself(orthoseshehasaspecialinterestin)tobeexempt,
withoutprovidingadequatejustificationfortheexemption.Thissortofreasoninghas
thefollowingform:

1.PersonAacceptsstandard(s)Sandappliesthemtoothersincircumstance(s)C.
2.PersonAisincircumstance(s)C.
3.ThereforeAisexemptfromS.

ThepersoncommittingSpecialPleadingisclaimingthatheisexemptfromcertain
principlesorstandardsyetheprovidesnogoodreasonforhisexemption.Thatthissort
ofreasoningisfallaciousisshownbythefollowingextremeexample:

1.Barbaraacceptsthatallmurderersshouldbepunishedfortheircrimes.
2.AlthoughshemurderedBill,Barbaraclaimssheisanexceptionbecauseshereally
wouldnotlikegoingtoprison.
3.Therefore,thestandardofpunishingmurderersshouldnotbeappliedtoher.

Thisisobviouslyablatantcaseofspecialpleading.Sincenoonelikesgoingtoprison,
thiscannotjustifytheclaimthatBarbaraaloneshouldbeexemptfrompunishment.

ThePrincipleofRelevantDifference
Fromaphilosophicstandpoint,thefallacyofSpecialPleadingisviolatingawell
acceptedprinciple,namelythePrincipleofRelevantDifference.Accordingtothis
principle,twopeoplecanbetreateddifferentlyifandonlyifthereisarelevant
differencebetweenthem.Thisprincipleisareasonableone.Afterall,itwouldnotbe
particularlyrationaltotreattwopeopledifferentlywhenthereisnorelevantdifference
betweenthem.Asanextremecase,itwouldbeveryoddforaparenttoinsiston
makingonechildwearsize5shoesandtheotherwearsize7shoeswhenthechildren
arebothsize5.
ItshouldbenotedthatthePrincipleofRelevantDifferencedoesallowpeopletobe
treateddifferently.Forexample,ifoneemployeewasaslackerandtheotherwasavery
productiveworkerthebosswouldbejustifiedingivingonlytheproductiveworkera
raise.Thisisbecausetheproductivityofeachisarelevantdifferencebetweenthem.
Sinceitcanbereasonabletotreatpeopledifferently,therewillbecasesinwhichsome
54
peoplewillbeexemptfromtheusualstandards.Forexample,ifitisBillsturntocook
dinnerandBillisveryill,itwouldnotbeacaseofSpecialPleadingifBillaskedtobe
excusedfrommakingdinner(this,ofcourse,assumesthatBilldoesnotaccepta
standardthatrequirespeopletocookdinnerregardlessofthecircumstances).Inthis
caseBillisofferingagoodreasonastowhyheshouldbeexemptand,mostimportantly,
itwouldbeagoodreasonforanyonewhowasillandnotjustBill.
Whiledeterminingwhatcountsasalegitimatebasisforexemptioncanbeadifficult
task,itseemsclearthatclaimingyouareexemptbecauseyouareyoudoesnotprovide
suchalegitimatebasis.Thus,unlessaclearandrelevantjustificationforexemptioncan
bepresented,apersoncannotclaimtobeexempt.
TherearecaseswhicharesimilartoinstancesofSpecialPleadinginwhichapersonis
offeringatleastsomereasonwhyheshouldbeexemptbutthereasonisnotgood
enoughtowarranttheexemption.ThiscouldbecalledFailedPleading.Forexample,a
professormayclaimtobeexemptfromhelpingtherestofthefacultymovebooksto
thenewdepartmentofficebecauseitwouldbebeneathhisdignity.However,thisisnot
aparticularlygoodreasonandwouldhardlyjustifyhisexemption.Ifitturnsoutthatthe
realreasonapersonisclaimingexemptionisthattheysimplytakethemselvestobe
exempt,thentheywouldbecommittingSpecialPleading.Suchcaseswillbefairly
common.Afterall,itisfairlyrareforadultstosimplyclaimtheyareexemptwithoutat
leastsomepretenseofjustifyingtheexemption.

Example#1:
BillandJillaremarried.BothBillandJillhaveputinafulldayattheoffice.Theirdog,
Rover,hasknockedoveralltheplantsinoneroomandhasstrewnthedirtalloverthe
carpet.Whentheyreturn,BilltellsJillthatitisherjobtocleanupafterthedog.When
sheprotests,hesaysthathehasputinafulldayattheofficeandistootiredtocleanup
afterthedog.

Example#2:
JaneandSueshareadormroom.

Jane:Turnofthatstupidstereo,Iwanttotakeanap.
Sue:WhyshouldI?Whatareyouexhaustedorsomething?
Jane:No,Ijustfeelliketakinganap.
Sue:Well,Ifeellikeplayingmystereo.
Jane:Well,Imtakingmynap.Youhavetoturnyourstereooffandthatsfinal.

Example#3:
MikeandBarbarashareanapartment.

Mike:Barbara,youvetrackedinmudagain.
Barbara:So?Itsnotmyfault.
Mike:Sure.Isupposeitwalkedinonitsown.Youmadethemess,soyoucleanitup.
Barbara:Why?

55
Mike:Weagreedthatwhoevermakesamesshastocleanitup.Thatisfair.
Barbara:Well,ImgoingtowatchTV.Ifyoudontlikethemud,thenyoucleanitup.
Mike:Barbara
Barbara:What?Iwanttowatchtheshow.Idontwanttocleanupthemud.LikeIsaid,
ifitbothersyouthatmuch,thenyoushouldcleanitup.

Spotlight
Description:
TheSpotlightfallacyiscommittedwhenapersonuncriticallyassumesthatall
membersorcasesofacertainclassortypearelikethosethatreceivethemost
attentionorcoverageinthemedia.Thislineofreasoninghasthefollowingform:

1.XswithqualityQreceiveagreatdealofattentionorcoverageinthemedia.
2.ThereforeallXshavequalityQ.

Thislineofreasoningisfallacioussincethemerefactthatsomeoneorsomething
attractsthemostattentionorcoverageinthemediadoesnotmeanthatit
automaticallyrepresentsthewholepopulation.Forexample,supposeamassmurderer
fromOldTown,Mainereceivedagreatdealofattentioninthemedia.Itwouldhardly
followthateveryonefromthetownisamassmurderer.
TheSpotlightfallacyderivesitsnamefromthefactthatreceivingagreatdealof
attentionorcoverageisoftenreferredtoasbeinginthespotlight.ItissimilartoHasty
Generalization,BiasedSampleandMisleadingVividnessbecausetheerrorbeingmade
involvesgeneralizingaboutapopulationbasedonaninadequateorflawedsample.
TheSpotlightFallacyisaverycommonfallacy.Thisfallacymostoftenoccurswhen
peopleassumethatthosewhoreceivethemostmediaattentionactuallyrepresentthe
groupstheybelongto.Forexample,somepeoplebegantobelievethatallthosewho
opposeabortionarewillingtogundowndoctorsincoldbloodsimplybecausethose
incidentsreceivedagreatdealofmediaattention.Sincethemediatypicallycovers
peopleoreventsthatareunusualorexceptional,itissomewhatoddforpeopleto
believethatsuchpeopleoreventsarerepresentative.
Forbriefdiscussionsofadequatesamplesandgeneralizations,seetheentriesfor
HastyGeneralizationandBiasedSample.

Example#1:
Bill:Jane,yousayyouareafeminist,butyoucantbe.
Jane:What!Whatdoyoumean?Isthisoneofyourstupidjokesorsomething?
Bill:No,Imserious.OverthesummerIsawfeministsappearonseveraltalkshowsand
newsshowsandIreadabouttheminthepapers.Thewomenwerereallybitterandsaid
thatwomenwerevictimsofmenandneededtobegivenspecialcompensation.Youare
alwaystalkingaboutequalrightsandforgingyourownplaceintheworld.So,youcant
beafeminist.
Jane:Bill,therearemanytypesoffeminism,notjustthebrandsthatgetmedia
attention.
56
Bill:Oh.Sorry.

Example#2:
Joe:Man,IdneverwanttogotoNewYork.Itisallconcreteandpollution.
Sam:Notallofit.
Joe:Sureitis.EverytimeIwatchthenewstheyarealwaysshowingconcrete,
skyscrapers,andlotsofpollution.
Sam:Sure,thatiswhatthenewsshows,butalotofNewYorkisfarmlandsandforest.
ItisnotallNewYorkCity,itjustreceivesmostoftheattention.

Example#3:
Ann:ImnotlettinglittleJimmyusehisonlineaccountanymore!
Sasha:Whynot?DidhehackintothePentagonandtrytostartworldwarthree?
Ann:No.Haventyoubeenwatchingthenewsandreadingthepapers?Thereare
pervertsonlinejustwaitingtomolestkids!Youshouldtakeawayyourdaughters
account.Why,theremustbethousandsofsickosoutthere!
Sasha:Really?Ithoughtthattherewereonlyaveryfewcases.
Ann:Imnotsureoftheexactnumber,butifthemediaiscoveringitsomuch,then
mostpeoplewhoareonlinemustbeindecent.

StrawMan
Description:
TheStrawManfallacyiscommittedwhenapersonsimplyignoresapersonsactual
positionandsubstitutesadistorted,exaggeratedormisrepresentedversionofthat
position.Thissortofreasoninghasthefollowingpattern:

1.PersonAhaspositionX.
2.PersonBpresentspositionY(whichisadistortedversionofX).
3.PersonBattackspositionY.
4.ThereforeXisfalse/incorrect/flawed.

Thissortofreasoningisfallaciousbecauseattackingadistortedversionofaposition
simplydoesnotconstituteanattackonthepositionitself.Onemightaswellexpectan
attackonapoordrawingofapersontohurttheperson.

Example#1:
Prof.Jones:Theuniversityjustcutouryearlybudgetby$10,000.
Prof.Smith:Whatarewegoingtodo?
Prof.Brown:Ithinkweshouldeliminateoneoftheteachingassistantpositions.That
wouldtakecareofit.
Prof.Jones:Wecouldreduceourscheduledraisesinstead.
Prof.Brown:Icantunderstandwhyyouwanttobleedusdrylikethat,Jones.

57
Example#2:
SenatorJonessaysthatweshouldnotfundtheattacksubmarineprogram.Idisagree
entirely.Icantunderstandwhyhewantstoleaveusdefenselesslike
that.

Example#3:
BillandJillarearguingaboutcleaningouttheirclosets:
Jill:Weshouldcleanouttheclosets.Theyaregettingabitmessy.
Bill:Why,wejustwentthroughthoseclosetslastyear.Dowehavetocleanthemout
everyday?
Jill:Ineversaidanythingaboutcleaningthemouteveryday.Youjustwanttookeepall
yourjunkforever,whichisjustridiculous.

TwoWrongsMakeaRight
Description:
TwoWrongsMakeaRightisafallacyinwhichapersonjustifiesanactionagainsta
personbyassertingthatthepersonwoulddothesamethingtohim/her,whenthe
actionisnotnecessarytopreventBfromdoingXtoA.Thisfallacyhasthefollowing
patternofreasoning:

1.ItisclaimedthatpersonBwoulddoXtopersonA.
2.ItisacceptableforpersonAtodoXtopersonB(whenAsdoingXtoBisnot
necessarytopreventBfromdoingXtoA).

Thissortofreasoningisfallaciousbecauseanactionthatiswrongiswrongevenif
anotherpersonwouldalsodoit.
ItshouldbenotedthatitcanbethecasethatitisnotwrongforAtodoXtoBifXis
donetopreventBfromdoingXtoAorifXisdoneinjustifiedretribution.Forexample,
ifSallyisrunningintheparkandBifftriestoattackher,Sallywouldbejustifiedin
attackingBifftodefendherself.Asanotherexample,ifcountryAisplanningtoinvade
countryBinordertoenslavethepeople,thencountryBwouldbejustifiedinlaunching
apreemptivestriketopreventtheinvasion.

Example#1:
BillhasborrowedJanesexpensivepen,butfoundhedidntreturnit.Hetellshimself
thatitisokaytokeepit,sinceshewouldhavetakenhis.

Example#2:
Jane:Didyouhearaboutthoseterroristskillingthosepoorpeople?Thatsortofkilling
isjustwrong.
Sue:Thoseterroristsarejustified.Afterall,theirlandwastakenfromthem.Itis
morallyrightforthemtodowhattheydo.
Jane:Evenwhentheyblowupbusloadsofchildren?
Sue:Yes.
58

Example#3:
Afterleavingabookstore,Jillnoticesthatshewasunderchargedforherbook.She
decidesnottoreturnthemoneytothestorebecauseifshehadoverpaid,theywould
nothavereturnedthemoney.

Example#4:
Jillishorrifiedbythewaythestateusescapitalpunishment.Billsaysthatcapital
punishmentisfine,sincethosethestatekilldonthaveanyqualmsaboutkillingothers.

59