Fallacies

1) Argumentum ad populum
Appeal to
majority/masses/popularity
You commit this fallacy when you debate an
issue not on the basis of facts, but rather on
the basis of popularity or acceptance. This
fallacy is based on psychological insecurity
and the need for social acceptance.
 1) Argumentum ad populum
Appeal to
majority/masses/popularity
Eg. This book has been on the New York
Times' bestseller list for 64 straight weeks.
What it says must be true.
 1) Argumentum ad populum
Appeal to
majority/masses/popularity
Eg. Everyone already believes that the
defendant killed her husband, and that
many people can't be wrong.
2) Argumentum ad misericordiam
Appeal to pity
This is a fallacy in which someone tries to
win support for an argument or idea by
exploiting his or her opponent's feelings of
pity or guilt.
This includes the appeal to compassion.
2) Argumentum ad misericordiam
Appeal to pity
Eg. The thief who was caught committed
the crime because he was in severe poverty.
Thus he didn’t commit the crime.
2) Argumentum ad misericordiam
Appeal to pity
Eg. "You should not find the defendant
guilty of murder, since it would break his
poor mother's heart to see him sent to jail."
Similar fallacies – appeal to envy / hatred /
pride (all appeals to emotion).
 3) Argumentum ad hominem
Attacking the character or
background of a person
This fallacy occurs when the character,
background or actions of a person which
are not actually relevant to the claim being
made, are used to refute the claim of the
opponent.
 3) Argumentum ad hominem
(Argument against the person)
Eg. Socrates' arguments about human
excellence are rubbish. What could a man
as ugly as he know about human
excellence.
 3) Argumentum ad hominem
Eg. Frege’s contributions to logic should
be discarded because he was a supporter
of Nazism.
 4) Argumentum ad baculum
Appeal to force/fear/threat
This fallacy is an argument where force,
coercion, or the threat of force, is given as a
justification for some claim.
 4) Argumentum ad baculum
Eg. You should believe God exists because,
if you don't, when you die you will be
judged and God will send you to Hell for all
of eternity. You don't want to be tortured in
Hell, do you? If not, it is a safer bet to
believe in God than to not believe.
4) Argumentum ad baculum
Appeal to force/fear/threat
Eg. ‘Agree with me or I will hit you!’
 Exercises
1. Herbert Hoover was the greatest President
of the United States, because if you do not
agree with my opinions, you will receive an F
grade for this course.
2. Should we believe in Sam’s hypothesis
when we know that Sam is engaged in
corrupt business practices?
3. The Government of India announced in
February 2021 that India had defeated
COVID19. As the Government of India
represents the will of the people, therefore,
indeed its statement was correct.
4. Navi Mumbai should get the prize of
being the best city. You should agree
because you live in Navi Mumbai, it is
your city.
 5) Red herring
This fallacy occurs when a person diverts
the opponent’s attention to something
which is not relevant to the truth of what is
in dispute. Distraction is used to confuse.
 5) Red herring
Eg.
A : Extreme weather events are becoming
more and more common, causing huge
losses.
B : Yes but we also have advanced
smartphones with wonderful apps now !
 6) Strawman
This fallacy is committed when a person
intentionally misrepresents the position of
the opponent, giving the impression of
refuting it, without actually addressing the
subject of the argument. Often it involves
depicting the opponent’s position as more
extreme or unreasonable that what it
actually is, or taking it out of context.
 6) Strawman
Eg. A : Vaccination is good for health and
so must be expanded.
B : Why do you want unqualified people to
administer vaccines? It will be terrible for
people’s health.
 6) Strawman
Eg. When Suresh said that the tax system
should be improved, Naresh replied that
Suresh was wrong because increasing taxes
would make life for poor people difficult.
 7) Missing the Point
(Ignoratio Elenchi)
In this the premises support a different
conclusion than the one which is proposed.
It means mistaken refutation which is
irrelevant to the given conclusion.
It is unintentional unlike Strawman fallacy.
 7) Missing the Point
(Ignoratio Elenchi)
Eg. A : Increasing budget spending on
education is necessary to improve it.
B : There are many other things that
are important to improve education.
 Exercises
6. A : I prefer Italian food over Chinese
food.
B : Why are you racist?
 Exercises
7. A : We should not discriminate between
people on the basis of religion.
B : Religions are actually very good. They
have been misunderstood by people like you.
 Exercises
8. When Suneeta said that the government
should improve the roads for improving
transport, Neelima said that the government
has already spent crores of Rupees on
improving the railways.