FALLACIES (Counterfeit Argument) 4) ARGUMENTUM AD IGNORANTIAM (Appeal to ignorance)

Unit 4 - Module 5 ✦ The act of inferring the truth of a conclusion because it

cannot be proved or cannot be disproved.
FALLACY ✦ The arguer asserts that a claim must be true because no one has
✦ Logical fallacies refer to the errors and flaws in proven it false, and vice versa.
argumentation that are often subtle in nature and are
pervasive in various contexts and different societal sectors EXAMPLES:
such as home, school, church, media, politics, and those alike. ๏ "There must be intelligent life outside Earth because no one has
✦ In general, a fallacy has a flawed reasoning and an illogical proven that there isn't."
conclusion. ๏ "There is no form of intelligent life outside Earth because no one
✦ It comes from the Latin word "fallo" which means "I err." has proven that there is."

FALLACY RECOGNITION 5) ARGUMENTUM AD POPULUM (Appeal to popularity and

traditional institution)
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES ✦ The soundness of the argument is based on the popularity of
Developing a habit of only the conclusion.
✦ This is when an individual opts to cater to the interests and
Improve one's critical thinking focusing on the errors and
lapses in others' arguments prejudices of the majority or the masses in order to gain support
and acceptance to a proposed conclusion.
Rigidly applying the knowledge
Develop argumentative skills EXAMPLES:
of identifying logical fallacies
๏ "Each one of my friends is an avid fan of The Beatles. Because of
Help in critiquing other people's Dismiss an entire argument this, I am certain that they are the greatest band of all time."
arguments solely because of one fallacy ๏ "Why don't you agree to bring back death penalty in the
Philippines? Everyone in the class sees nothing wrong about it, so
Honing one's sense of what makes you think otherwise?"
Gaining a sense of frustration
cautiousness when presenting
when hearing arguments
an argument(s). 6) ARGUMENTUM AD VERECUNDIAM (Appeal to false
authority)
✦ The person presenting the argument is not a credible authority
COMMON LOGICAL FALLACIES
1) ARGUMENTUM AD HOMINEM (Argument directed to the on the subject at hand.
person)
✦ An attack to the person proposing an argument rather than
EXAMPLES:
๏ "Persida Acosta, a well-known lawyer, claimed that Dengvaxia was
on the argument itself.
the direct cause of the vaccinated children's deaths."
๏ "You should buy this cereal brand because renowned basketball
EXAMPLES:
๏ "Ron does not deserve to be the student council president athlete Michael Jordan eats it everyday for breakfast."
because he is a womanizer and an alcoholic."
๏ "Who are you to talk about academic excellence? You're already a 7) STRAW MAN FALLACY
✦ The deliberate distortion of an argument to weaken and
graduating student and you still don't know how to drive!"
offer it as the real argument.
✦ The person attacks an argument which is different from, and
2) ARGUMENTUM AD BACULUM (Appeal to fear or force)
✦ The use of threat, intimidation, and strong-arm tactics to
usually weaker than, the opposition's best argument.
prove a point.
✦ Proving one's own argument through fear or the threat of
EXAMPLES:
๏ "People who think abortion should be banned have no respect for
consequences instead of using logical reasoning.
the rights of women. They treat them as nothing but baby-making
EXAMPLES: machines. That's wrong. Women must have the right to choose."
๏ "Senator Barretto says that the nation should not add to the
๏ "If you don't join the field trip next week, I will give you a failing
grade in our class." defense budget. Senator Alonzo says that he cannot believe that
๏ "You better give me your money or else I will beat you up."
Senator Barretto wants to leave the nation defenseless."

8) RED HERRING FALLACY

3) ARGUMENTUM AD MISERICORDIAM (Appeal to pity)
✦ The straw man substitute becomes the main focal point as
✦ The rejection of an argument by an appeal to the emotional
and miserable consequences of the conclusion. the participants lose sight of the original argument.
✦ An argument that focuses on an irrelevant issue to detract
✦ An appeal to accept the truth of a conclusion out of pity for the
arguer or some third party. attention from the real issue.
✦ The deliberate diversion of attention with the intention of trying
✦ Either the arguer (or someone else) is already an object of pity, or
they will become one if the conclusion is not accepted. to abandon the original argument.

EXAMPLES: EXAMPLES:
๏ MOTHER: "Why did you go home late? Your last class ended about
๏ "Please give me a passing grade because if I fail, I will lose my
scholarship and will be forced to quit school because of my five hours ago."
๏ SON: "Mom! I got a perfect score in our Math exam today! I was
parents' lack of financial means to support my tertiary education."
๏ "Officer, please don't give me a ticket for beating the red light. I
the only one in our class to do so!"
was forced to do so because my brother was rushed to the
hospital and I need to be there immediately."

FALLACIES (Counterfeit Argument) ⦿ Page 1 of 2

 ๏ JOHN: "Hey Mark, can I have my P300 that you borrowed from me
last week back? I need to buy a new book for my Philosophy
class."
๏ MARK: "Your sweater is so cool, John! That looks so comfortable
to wear! Where did you buy that? I'll definitely get one too!"
9) FALSE ANALOGY
✦ The presentation of an analogy that is not accurate, and at
the same time, a conclusion is drawn as if the analogy is
exact.
✦ The assumption that because two things are alike in some
respects, they are alike in others.
✦ A specific kind of false analogy is the natural law fallacy which
presents that what is true about nature must also be true of
humans.
EXAMPLES:
๏ "If adults can legally drink alcohol, children should be able to drink
also!"
๏ "I believe that monogamy is the proper relationship among
humans since it is proven that monogamous birds are part of
nature."
10) SLIPPERY SLOPE FALLACY
✦ A fallacy that takes place when a series of consequences is
cited which leads to a disastrous final outcome.
✦ Slippery slope arguments generally follow this pattern:
‣ The arguer claims that if a certain seemingly harmless action,
A, is permitted, A will lead to B, B will lead to C, and so on to D.
‣ The arguer holds that D is a terrible thing and therefore should
not be permitted.
EXAMPLES:
๏ "We cannot unlock our child from the closet because if we do, she
will want to roam the house. If we let her roam the house, she will
want to roam the neighbourhood. If she roams the
neighbourhood, she will get picked up by a stranger in a van, who
will sell her in a sex slavery ring in some other country. Therefore,
we should keep her locked up in the closet!"
๏ "If I give you a piece of gum, then others will ask and I’ll have to
give them one as well. If that happens, then before you know it, I’ll
have to give everyone in the class a piece of gum. Then, there will
be none left for me!"
13) FALLACY OF FALSE DILEMMA
✦ An argument that forces an individual to accept only two
alternatives, when in reality, there is a wider array of available
options.
EXAMPLES:
๏ "Either Nick or Mike wins the election; Mike will not win; Therefore,
Nick will win."
๏ "I can't believe you are in favor of the restoration of death penalty.
Either you did not understand the proposition, or you just care
more about killing people than saving lives!"
14) NON SEQUITUR (Does not follow)
✦ A conclusion that does not logically follow from the premise
set or the preceding statements.
✦ This is the essential commonality of all fallacious arguments.
EXAMPLES:
๏ "I wore a black shirt to school today which is why it rained hard."
๏ "No one should grill their steaks because cows don't like smoke."
FINAL TAKEAWAY POINTS
➡ The best technique that a critical thinker can use to
criticize an argument is to demonstrate that it is
fallacious.
➡ This is the best weapon of a critical thinker in his or her
conceptual arsenal.
➡ When you drop the Latin terms for fallacious arguments, your
opponent in any discussion or debate will be taken aback.
➡ Even if you have forgotten the Latin terms, just use the
blanket term non sequitur and more likely than not, it will do
the job as well!
"The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy - the strange error
that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and
applause of other men! A weird life it is, indeed, to be living
always in somebody else's imagination, as if that were the only
place in which one could at last become real!"
Thomas Merton

11) FALLACY OF COMPLEX QUESTION

✦ This fallacy occurs when one asks a question that assumes
the truth of a hidden conclusion.
✦ It is committed when an arguer asks a question that contains an
unwarranted assumption and involves presupposition.

EXAMPLES:
๏ "Did you write this piece of trash?"
๏ "Are you still dating

12) PETITIO PRINCIPII (Begging the question or circular

reasoning)
✦ The citation of the conclusion as the evidence of the
argument or repetitively restating the conclusion.
✦ An argument in which one simply restates the point either directly
or indirectly instead of applying evidence.

EXAMPLES:
๏ "Chicken nuggets are good. Why are they good? Because they are
tasty. Why are they tasty? Because they are good! "
๏ "I've seen 'Four Sisters and a Wedding' five times because it is a
good movie. Clearly, it is a good movie; otherwise, I would not have
seen it five times."

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