Lesson 8:

FALLACIES
Methods of Philosophizing (Part 4)
Mr. Edward B. Noda Jr.
Jose Abad Santos SHS
LOGIC
●
Branch of philosophy that focuses on the analysis
of arguments
●
Studies and elaborates on good argumentation.
●
Study of correct thinking and reasoning
 Fallacy
Group of statement that appear
to be arguments, but fail to
support the conclusion.
Eg: There is no hope in
the
Philippine government, because the
Philippines is a tropical country.
1. Argumentum ad Hominem
“Attacking the Person”
Examples:
Hominem came from Latin word “homo”
which means man. This fallacy literally means “How can we believe him when
hitting the person below the belt instead of he talks about social distancing,
focusing on the issue at hand. he is a lawyer who is a liar.”

Attacking the person presenting “Of course he believes that the

the argument instead of the government is flawed, he is a
argument itself. rebel and a Communist!”
2. Argumentum ad Baculum Examples:
(Appeal to Force)
“TV Patrol is the best news
program on TV. If you don’t
Baculum is a Latin word which means
believe me, I won’t let you watch
scepter or stick. A scepter is a symbol
of authority. Normally it is the Pope
the TV.”
who carries it in his hands. This is
committed when a person uses threat
or force to advance an argument. “If this peace agreement will not
be signed by the government,
then we will have no recourse
Using the threat of force or an
undesirable event to advance an but to go to war.”
argument.
3. Argumentum ad Misercordiam
(Appeal to Pity) “Forgive me officer, there are lot of
Misercordiam came from Latin word
Misericordia which means pity or
compassion. A person uses emotion
such as pity to convince someone
Using emotions such as pity or
sympathy.
Examples:
boarders in this apartment including
myself. Only the owner was issued a
quarantine pass. We don’t have
food,
we can’t give our ATM to the
owner.
That’s why I went out. So I did not
violate the Bayanihan Act Heal as
One.”
4. Argumentum ad Populum
“Appeal to people”/
Examples:
Bandwagon fallacy
“I’m sure you want to have an i phone.
Populum is the Latin word for people. Almost 80% of your schoolmates are
Most of TV commercials are guilty of using it.”
this argument which exploit people’s
“Every boy your age already has a
vanity, desires, etc.
girlfriend, you should go find one!”
The idea is presented acceptable
because a lot of people accept it.
5. Argumentum ad Tradition/ AntiquitatemExamples:
“Appeal to Tradition”
“All of us in the family, from our
ancestors up to now, are devout
Traditio means tradition. Advancing
Catholics, so it is only right that you will
an idea since it has been practice for a
be baptized as a Catholic.“
long time.
“Marriage should be between a man and
The idea is acceptable because it has
a woman. It has been so for a long time
been true for a long time.
in this country; it should remain so today
“this is the way it has always been and in the future.”
done”
6. Argumentum ad Ignorantiam
“Appeal to Ignorance”
Ignorantiam a Latin word for ignorance.
Whatever has been proven false must be
true and vice versa
Committed when a person could not give
a counter argument or if he/she could
not present any evidences or witnesses
to prove or disprove the statement of
another, his/ her assertions are correct
and the opponent is wrong.
Examples:
“According to Zecharia Sitchin, the author
of the book Cosmic Code, Adam was the
first test tube baby. Since nobody proves
otherwise, therefore it is true.”
“I am sure that the students have
understood the instructions perfectly
well because no one raised a hand to
ask
anything on them.”
 7. Petitio Principii
Examples:
(Begging the Question)
“I have the right to free speech, therefore
you cannot stop me from talking.”
A fallacy in which a conclusion is taken
for granted in the premises
“What is a declarative sentence? It is a
Assuming the thing or idea to be sentence that declares.”
proven is true
“Cheating is wrong because it is immoral”
Also known as “circular argument”
 8. Hasty Generalization
This fallacy is committed when one
reaches a generalization based on
insufficient evidence
Example:
“Our neighbor who is a police officer
was convicted of being a drug dealer,
therefore, all police officers are drug
dealers. “
 9. Cause-and-effect Examples:

(Post Hoc, Ergo, Propter Hoc) “Ever since you bought that sweater, everything
has been going wrong in your life. You should get
rid of it.”
Assuming that the effect is related to a
cause because both events occur one “Jen comes to class just as the bell rings every
day. Jen’s arrival at class causes the bell to ring.”
after the other.

Assuming a “cause-and-effect” “She became an old maid because she used to

sing while cooking.”
relationship between unrelated
events.
10. Fallacy of Composition
Examples:

Infers that something is true of a part, is “You are a doctor, therefore you came
true of a whole from a family of doctors.”

Assuming that what is true of a part is “These cases of robbery in this district
have convinces me that the city has
true for the whole. become a den of thieves and criminals”

Individual to all
11. Fallacy of Division
Examples:

Infers that something is true of the “Your family is smart, therefore you are
whole, must also be true on its parts smart.”

Assuming that what is true for the “You come from a family of doctors and
whole is true for its parts. intellectuals! Surely you can do better in this
course!”
All to individual
12. Fallacy of Equivocation Examples:

“Humans walk by their legs. The table has

Using the same term in a different legs. Therefore the table walks by its
situation with different meaning. legs.”

Calling two different things by the same “A ruler measures 12 inches, Mayor Isko
name. Moreno is a ruler; therefore, Mayor Isko
is 12 inches.”
Resulting from the use of a particular
word/ expression in multiple senses
throughout an agreement leading to a
false conclusion.

13. Fallacy of Accident
Occurs when one attempts to apply
a general rule to an irrelevant
situation.
Example:
Cutting people with knives is a crime.
Surgeons cut people with knives.
Surgeons are criminals.
14. Argumentum ad
Verecundiam
(Argument from Authority)
Committed when a person uses a
name of a popular celebrity or name
of an expert to put more weight in
the assertion being made.
Example:
“My assignment in Chemistry is not
wrong. Ms. Aguirre, my English
teacher who is known internationally
as a novelist, confirmed my answer.”