Fallacies are simply invalid or faulty arguments.

The fallacies that

attract the attention of logicians are those that are faulty, but not obviously
flawed-"arguments which, although incorrect, are psychologically persuasive" or
those "that may seem to be correct, but that proveD, upon examination, not to
be so. "

2 Kinds of Fallacy
1. Formal fallacies are mistakes in formal arguments, and this class is
usually defined widely enough to include faulty syllogisms.
2. Informal fallacies are the remaining fallacies-the errors that occur in
informal debate.

AD HOMINEM

This fallacy is committed when one resorts to personal attacks instead of addressing the
argument.

(abusive and circumstantial): the fallacy of attacking the character or circumstances of an

individual who is advancing a statement or an argument instead of seeking to disprove the
truth of the statement or the soundness of the argument.

Ex. Bill: “I believe abortion is morally wrong.”

Dave: “Of course you would say that, you’re a priest.”

Bill: “What about the arguments I gave to support my position?”

Dave: “Those don’t count. Like I said, you’re a priest, so you have to say that abortion is
wrong. And you are just a lackey to the Pope, so I can’t believe what you say.”

NON SEQUITUR “it does not allow”

The argument itself could have true premises, but still have a false conclusion.

When the conclusion does not follow from the premises. In more informal reasoning, it can be
when what is presented as evidence or reason is irrelevant or adds very little support to the
conclusion.

Ex. People generally like to walk on the beach. Beaches have sand. Therefore, having
sand floors in homes would be a great idea!

Explanation: As cool as the idea of sand floors might sound, the conclusion does not follow
from the premises. The fact that people generally like to walk on sand does not mean that
they want sand in their homes, just like because people generally like to swim, they shouldn’t
flood their houses.

This man is a criminal. He must be a drug addict.

FALSE DICHOTOMY or FALSE DILEMMA

False dichotomies or false dilemmas occur when one makes it seem like there are only two
possible choices when there are actually other choices possible.

is a fallacy based on an "either-or" type of argument.

EX. You keep defending the rights of drug pushers and criminals—that means you don't
care about the rights of the victims!

I thought you cared about other people, but I didn't see you at the fundraiser for the
Harris Family.

Drink water every day and be healthy, or continue to drink sodas and be unhealthy.
Those are the only options.

STRAW MAN

This fallacy happens when one distorts, reduces, or completely fabricates their opponent’s
position to make it easier to refute, and to make their own claims appear more reasonable,
while actually refuting an argument that was not presented by that opponent. Essentially, it’s
like you’re attacking a straw man.

EX. Person A: I think everyone has a right to a fair trial

Person B: You bleeding-heart liberals think that policemen are murderers and that
criminals should just run free. Not what Person A said at all.

If we tolerate homosexuality and legalize gay marriage, eventually we’ll wind up

normalizing pedophilia and bestiality as well.

RED HERRING

The expression is mainly used to assert that an argument is not relevant to the issue being
discussed. An attempt to mislead or distract from the relevant topic.

This fallacy consists in diverting attention from the real issue by focusing instead on an issue
having only a surface relevance to the first.

EX. Daughter: "I'm so hurt that Todd broke up with me, Mom." Mother: "Just think of all
the starving children in Africa, honey. Your problems will seem pretty insignificant
then."
APPEAL TO AUTHORITY

is a form of defeasible argument in which a claimed authority's support is used as evidence for
an argument's conclusion.

EX. A commercial claims that a specific brand of cereal is the best way to start the day
because athlete Michael Jordan says that it is what he eats every day for breakfast.

BEGGING THE QUESTION

is a fallacy in which a claim is made and accepted to be true, but one must accept the premise
to be true for the claim to be true. This is also known as circular reasoning. Essentially, one
makes a claim based on evidence that requires one to already accept that the claim is true.

EX. Smoking cigarettes can kill you because cigarettes are deadly.

Killing people is wrong, so the death penalty is wrong.

Smoking cigarettes can kill you because cigarettes are deadly.

AD POPULUM "appeal to the people"

is a fallacious argument that concludes that a proposition must be true because many or most
people believe it, often concisely encapsulated as: "If many believe so, it is so".

EX. “Gods must exist, since every culture has some sort of belief in a higher being.”

“The fact that the majority of our citizens support the death penalty proves that it is
morally right.”

POST HOC ERGO PROPTER HOC "after this, therefore because of this"

is an informal fallacy that states: "Since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been
caused by event X." It is often shortened simply to post hoc fallacy.

The term refers to a logical fallacy that because two events occurred in succession, the former
event caused the latter event

EX. I have a run of bad luck every time I see a black cat, so black cats are unlucky.