Getigan, Sharry Angel R.

Philo 1 WFX
2018-21969 Prof. Rubicon Soberano

Fallacies - Counterfeit Argument

1. Argumentum ad Hominem​ - This fallacy is an argument directly to the person who

composed the argument. It may be based on his/her look, character flow or evil
intentions to destroy his/her credibility. Examples of this fallacy are shown below:
a. “The Government should enact minimum-wage legislation so that workers are not
exploited.” “​Nonsense. You say that only because you cannot find a good job.”
b. You are against of President Duterte’s war on drugs because you are a bribed
yellowtard.
c. I hate that professor because she always coughs in between of her sentences
during our lectures.
2. Strawman​ - It is committed when someone deliberately misrepresent an argument to
weaken it and passes it as a genuine argument. The examples below are common
arguments I heard from a typical Marcos apologist:
a. If you hate the late President Marcos, then do not use the highways and
infrastructures he built during his term.
b. Do you believe that former President Marcos is a hero? *no* Then you believe
that all soldiers buried in ​Libingan ng mga Bayani​ are not heroes.
c. All 3,257 extrajudicial killings victims deserved to die so that the military under
President Marcos maintain peace during the Martial Law.
3. Appeal to Ignorance (argumentum ad ignorantiam) - ​This arguments is said when
someone argues something that nobody has disproved the existence but it does not
mean that there are.
a. Although we have proven that the moon is not made of spare ribs, we have not
proven that its core cannot be filled with them; therefore, the moon’s core is filled
with spare ribs.
b. Maybe you are experiencing horrible things lately because it’s all part of God’s
plan for you.
c. No one has ever been able to prove definitively that extra-terrestrials do not exist,
so they must be real.
4. Argument of Emotive Language -​ (also known as: loaded words, loaded language,
euphemisms) According to Bennett, this fallacy is substituting facts and evidence with
words that stir up emotion, with the attempt to manipulate others into accepting the truth
of the argument​. ​The examples I put below are usually heard from religious particularly,
Christian people.
a. By rejecting God, you are rejecting goodness, kindness, and love itself.
b. Jesus died for you so you will be able to go in heaven with him.
c. The Bible is filled with God’s word and love for us.
5. Argument of Fast Talking ​- Bennett’s description of this fallacy is, “When fast talking is
seen as intelligence and/or confidence in the truth of one’s argument; therefore, seen as
evidence of the truth of the argument itself.”
a. (To be read extremely fast) People who voted President Duterte in 2016 election
are considered intellectuals. Because they believed Duterte’s advocacies to turn
this country like the Singapore.
 b. (To be read extremely fast) We must support President Duterte because he is
doing his best to stop the uprising numbers of drug addicts. You must be aware
of his power to turn this country into first world and trust, always trust his actions!
c. (To be read very fast) Let us vote all of the PDP Laban people because they
wholeheartedly support Duterte’s objectives. PDP Laban is one among the best
that you can vote for every government position this coming election.
6. argumentum ad nauseam ​- This fallacy is repeating an argument or a premise over and
over again in place of better supporting evidence.
a. This donut is a green donut. Krispy Kreme produces green donuts. The donut is
green in color.
b. My favorite TV series is Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I always watch the TV series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I am the only one in my family that watches the TV show
Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
c. I got way too much time to be this hurt. I am hurting very much and there is no
time for it. My feelings are very hurt.
7. Fallacy of False Dilemma -​ The arguments below are very convincing since its form is
valid. Unfortunately, the dilemma being forced is false.
a. There are only two kinds of people in the world; one that think Die Hard is a
Christmas movie and second who is wrong.
b. Either you love me, or you hate me.
c. Do-or-Die
8. Slippery Slope Fallacy -​ It is universalizable and happens when someone plunge down
the slippery slope to a terrible outcome. However, according to Prof. Acuna, there is no
evidence that, if we take the first step, all the predicted consequences to the gruesome
end will follow.
a. [me to my parents] You have to buy me an iPad! If you don’t, I will be called a
loser and lose all my friends.
b. “Your coach’s policy is that no one can be a starter on game day if they miss
practice. So, if you miss basketball practice today, you won’t be a starter in
Friday’s game. Then you won’t be the first freshman to start on the Varsity
basketball team at our school.”
c. You have to study in this exam or else you won’t succeed in life!
9. Circular Argument (petitio principii) -​ This fallacy is also known as the fallacy of ​begging
the question.​ Professor Acuna said,​ ​if x is wrong one must produce reasons that would
support the claim. Smuggling the conclusions in the premise set will not strengthen the
argument. One cannot support the claim of the conclusion by using the conclusion as
one’s premise. Apparently, many people think that repeating the conclusion several
times makes up a sound argument.
a. If someone says, “the Bible is true because the Bible says it’s true"
b. "According to my brain, my brain is reliable.”
c. “Abstract art isn’t even art. Those pictures and sculptures don’t represent
anything, and that’s how you know it’s not even art.”
10. Hasty Generalization ​- Also known as ​lonely fact fallacy, ​Bennett’s description of this is,
“drawing a conclusion based on a small sample size, rather than looking at statistics that
are much more in line with the typical or average situation.”
a. All U.P. students are member of Upsilon Sigma Phi Fraternity.
b. Apple computers are the most expensive computer brand.
c. I excel in everything.
11. Red Herring (ignoratio elenchi) ​- According to Bennett, this argument is​ a deliberate
diversion of attention with the intention of trying to abandon the original argument.
a. “My wife wants to talk about cleaning out the garage, so I asked her what she
wants to do with our patio furniture? Now she’s shopping for new patio furniture
and not bothering me about the garage.”
b. You have an amazing red hair. But your forehead is too big.
c. We can be good friends only if we don’t have other friends.
12. Tu Quoque Fallacy ​- Also known as, “you too” fallacy. This fallacy happens when one
claims that the argument is flawed by pointing out that the one making the argument is
not acting consistently with the claims of the argument.
a. My mom is a former drug addict. I can try it too because she used to be under the
influence of it too.
b. [Jollibee to NutriAsia] You just can’t preach about the mistreatment of employees
because you too ignore your workers’ well-being.
c. “Maybe I committed a little adultery, but so did you Jason!”
13. Causal Fallacy ​- One of the fallacy under Causal Fallacy is False Cause or non causa
pro causa, which is when you conclude about a cause without enough evidence to do
so. It’s possible that x is y, but x alone is not enough evidence to draw that conclusion.
That x doesn’t tell us much of anything about the y. Examples of this fallacy is are shwon
below:
a. “Since your parents named you ‘Harvest,’ they must be farmers.”
b. Maybe you were an Angel in your past life so your parents put it as your second
name.
c. “Jimmy isn’t at school today. He must be on a family trip.”
14. Fallacy of Sunk Costs -​ Reasoning that further investment is warranted on the fact that
the resources already invested will be lost otherwise, not taking into consideration the
overall losses involved in the further investment.
a. “I know this relationship isn’t working anymore and that we’re both miserable. No
marriage. No kids. No steady job. But I’ve been with him for seven years, so I
better stay with him.”
b. There’s no point of studying anymore because I forgot to past my course
requirement in Philo 1 this semester.
c. There is no point in taking the final exam in my FIL 40 class because I failed my
midterm exam.
15. Appeal to Authority (argumentum ad verecundiam)​ - Appeal to authority is fallacious
when it is the ​wrong authority​. The examples I provided below are fallacious because it
is an appeal to a wrong authorities.
a. I bought Kopiko 78 because Paulo Avelino said it tastes so good.
b. I will attend a seminar about physicians that recommend brushing my teeth 6
times a day make it stronger.
c. Jesus Christ will give me 1.0 grade this sem.
16. Equivocation (ambiguity) ​- This fallacy happen when one using an ambiguous term in
more than one sense, thus making an argument misleading.
a. replacing "fired from my job" with "early retirement."
b. A romantically involved couple might discuss their relationship to others as "just
friends"
 c. “I don’t understand why you’re saying I broke a promise. I said I’d never speak
again to my ex-girlfriend. And I didn’t. I just sent her some pictures and text
messages.”
17. Appeal to Pity (argumentum ad misericordiam) ​- This fallacy is an attempt to distract the
truth of the conclusion by the use of pity.
a. “How can you eat that innocent little carrot? He was plucked from his home in the
ground at a young age, and violently skinned, chemically treated, and packaged,
and shipped to your local grocer and now you are going to eat him into oblivion
when he did nothing to you. You really should reconsider what you put into your
body.”
b. “The government needs to hear our cry because we are scared. We are scared
that this candidate will not respect us or protect us. We are scared about our
future. There’s no hope for people like us with these candidates in office.”
c. Please vote Duterte because he hears our cry and he wants us to be protected
from any harm because he cares about us too much.
18. Argumentum ad Populum​ - This fallacy is committed when something is accepted
because it’s popular.
a. “Drink Gatorade because that’s what all the professional athletes do to stay
hydrated.”
b. Steal his/her look: You have to buy this stuff to look exactly like him/her.
c. Everyone is listening to The Beatles! You should too!
19. Accident Fallacy (a dicto simpliciter ad dictum secundum quid) ​- When an attempt is
made to apply a general rule to all situations when clearly there are exceptions to the
rule. Simplistic rules or laws rarely take into consideration legitimate exceptions, and to
ignore these exceptions is to bypass reason to preserve the illusion of a perfect law.
People like simplicity and would often rather keep simplicity at the cost of rationality.
a. I believe one should never deliberately hurt another person, that’s why I can
never be a surgeon.
b. The Bible clearly says, “Thou shall not bear false witness.” Therefore, as a
Christian, you better answer the door and tell our drunk neighbor with the
shotgun, that his wife, whom he is looking to kill, is hiding in our basement.
Otherwise, you are defying God himself!
c. You are not allowed to cheat even though someone is harassing you to get your
answer.
20. Ambiguity Fallacy -​ When an unclear phrase with multiple definitions is used within the
argument; therefore, does not support the conclusion. Some will say single words count
for the ambiguity fallacy, which is really a specific form of a fallacy known as
equivocation.​
a. It is said that we have a good understanding of our universe. Therefore, we
know exactly how it began and exactly when.
b. All living beings come from other living beings. Therefore, the first forms of life
must have come from a living being. That living being is God.
c. Math is very easy! You just have to add all the numbers together.
 References

Acuna, Andresito E. Philosophical Analysis 7​th​ Edition Advanced Techniques for Critical
Thinking. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press. 2004. Print

Ferrer, David. “15 Logical Fallacies You Should Know Before Getting into a Debate.” ​The
Quad.​ 27 July 2018, thebestschools.org/magazine/15-logical-fallacies-know/

Bennett, Bo. “Fallacy of Ambiguity” “Accident Fallacy” ​Logically Fallacious.​ Archieboy

Holdings, LLC, 20 Sept. 2015. Web.
"http://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/17/Ambiguity-Fallacy"
www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/17/Ambiguity-Fallacy
"http://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/2/Accident-Fallacy"
www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/2/Accident-Fallacy