LOGICAL FALLACIES

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND

PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

ALLPPT.com _ Free PowerPoint Templates, Diagrams and Charts

LOGICAL FALLACIES
A logical fallacy is a flaw or error
in reasoning.
Logical fallacies are like tricks or illusions
of thought and are often very sneakily
used by politicians and the media
to persuade people to take t
heir side.
LOGICAL FALLACIES
TRICKERY WITH WORDS:
EQUIVOCATION –shifting sense of the word
ACCIDENT – treating as permanent a quality that may be only temporary
SNUGGLED CONNOTATION – use of word or phrase having an emotional
meaning which the facts do not justify.
FLOATING COMPARISON – the comparison or superlative form of a term
which is not connected with anything
MISUSE OF ETYMOLOGY – using the roots of a word or phrase to justify
or take an argument. This is a fallacy because it is not the possibl
e to prove that practices in the non-verbal world are g
ood or bad by analyzing the meanings or history of
words
 
LOGICAL FALLACIES
PERVERSION OF LEGITIMATE
ARGUMENTATIVE METHODS:
POST HOC, ERGO PROPTER HOC (after the fact, therefore
because of it)
NON CAUSA PRO CAUSA – There is no cause of the kind
that has been given the cause
ARGUMENTUM AD IGNORANTIAM (Argument to Ignorance –
Something must be true because it has never been proven
false; something must be false because it has
never been proven true)
LARGE NUMBERS – citing large numbers to impress the read
er and prove/disprove the argument: a fallacy since sheer num
bers cannot substitute for real logic.
LOGICAL FALLACIES
PERVERSION OF LEGITIMATE ARGUMENTATIVE METHODS:

FALLACY OF CONSENSUS GENTIUM (agreement of the

people – one argues the truth of a conclusion because
people believe it, whether at the present time or universally
FALSE ANALOGY – use of illustrations or analogies as proof
BEGGING THE QUESTION – arguing in a circle
GAMBLER’S FALLACY – ignoring the laws of probability, this
fallacy argues that something has not happened for a long
time then its probability of occurrence thereby increases, or
conversely, that because a chance occurrence has b
een repeated, the odds against its happening i
ncrease or decrease.
UNQUALIFIED SOURCE – citing evidence from a source not
qualified to give it.
LOGICAL FALLACIES
PERVERSION OFLEGITIMATE ARGUMENTATIVE METHODS:

HASTY GENERALIZATION – generalizing from limited or

inadequate evidence
 FALLACY OF CONVERSE ACCIDENT – generalizing a
conclusion from examples that are not typical
 FALLACY OF COMPOSITION – assuming that what holds
for each member of a class will hold for the class
as a whole
 FALLACY OF DIVISION - the opposite of composition
 
ASSIGNMENT
Research on the meaning of the following fallacies and give
one example each.
EVASIONS:
ARGUMENTUM AD BACULUM
ARGUMENTUM AD VERICUNDIAM
ARGUMENTUM AD HOMINEM
ARGUMENTUM AD MISERICORDIAM
ARGUMENTUM AD PERSONAM
ARGUMENTUM AD POPULUM
THE WRONG MAKE A RIGHT – “TU QUOQUE”
FALLACY OF THE GOLDEN PAST
FALLACY OF THE FUTURE
DAMNING THE SOURCE