Logical Fallacies
Student samples
Red Herring
•Directing attention away from the main topic
towards an non relevant subject to substitute
for the argument.
•Example 1:you shouldn't vote for him because
he doesn't like steak.
•Example 2: you shouldn't buy that car, the
company that makes it is not a popular brand.
Hasty Generalization
You are rushing to a conclusion
before you have all the relevant
facts. Somewhat similar to
stereotypes.
Hasty Generalization
Fred a German stole my watch therefore all of
Germans are thieves
This is incorrect and a hasty generalization because
since one German man stole something doesn't
mean all Germans are thieves.
Cats have fur and dogs have fur therefore dogs are
cats.
This is a hasty generalization because it is jumping to
the conclusion that all dogs are cats because they
have fur. In actuality they may both have fur but are
completely different animals.
Definition Ad Baculum
(Scare tactics) A rhetorical strategy, appeals to
force, and freight to influence an audience,
usually over the top.
Examples:
"Do not have sex, because you will get pregnant and
die." -Mean Girls
Explanation: in reality, the person is trying to scare
the audience by saying that they will "get pregnant
and die" if they engage in sexual activity, but in reality
it is unlikely for someone to die from that.
"If you don't believe in God, you will go to hell for
eternity."
Explanation: people's beliefs differ, but in this
example, the person saying that if you do not believe
in God, then they will go to hell and suffer,
exaggerating their consequences.
Straw Man
Definition: An argument or opponent set up so as
to be easily refuted or defeated
Definition in our own words: Exaggerating or
misrepresenting someone's argument to make it
easier to attack
Spongebob Karate
Island
(Literal Example)
When spongebob arrives at Karate Island and
he is set up with easy opponents to defeat to
raise his self confidence
Coach to Player
(Actual Example)
When you ask your coach not to have practice
because it's too cold and he says that you don't
care about the team
Ad Baculum
Definition: A rhetorical tactic that uses unlikely
but frightening illustrations to move an audience
(scare tactics).
Definition in our own words: Saying something
that most likely won't happen but is still a
possibility to scare the opponent.
Dracula
(Literal Example)
Dracula says things that he will do to his
opponents to scare them (and it sounds like
baculum)
Slippery Slope
An idea or course of actions
that lead to something horribly wrong or
disastrous
If you eat cake, you will get fat; if
you're fat, you'll get diabetes, and if
you get diabetes your will die. If you
eat cake, you will die.
This is slippery slope because it takes something as ordinary as eating some cake
and leads to an extreme outcome such as death.
Ad Populum
More commonly referred to as
"bandwagon,” Ad Populum is the
argument that a claim's validity is
reflected through the quantity of
people that believe it. This could be
represented by saying that a claim is
false because it is not commonly
believed, but the fallacy is used more
often in a defensive context, stating
something must be true because the
masses hold to it.
"Our justice system is never wrong, because the
jury always reaches a verdict democratically"
"Mom, you're driving 10 over the limit!"
"But son, everyone is! We can't all get a ticket
for it!"
Either/Or
Also called "false dilemma", "black and
white thinking", "fallacy of false
choice", or "fallacy of the excluded
middle", this is committed when one
diminishes a array of options into only
2, usually polar-opposite choices. The
two options are often presented with
rhetorical and connotative language in
order to make one choice seem far
more logical or just than the other.
"You have two options: either vote Romney and
save America, or watch it drown in debt in the
hands of Obama"
"You can either defend basic human rights by
voting for Obama, or let millions of Americans
suffer without affordable healthcare"
Ad hominem
Ad hominem argument
replying to an argument or
factual claim by attacking a
characteristic of the person
making the claim.
Examples of Ad
Hominem
• In the film 12 Angry Men, the jurors that think
the boy is guilty say he is guilty partly
because he was a poor boy from the slums
and is something a boy from the slums would
do
• Another example is when you dismiss
someone argument by saying that his
argument is wrong because he is stupid or
ignorant
Ad Hominem
An attack on a person which
is irrelevant to the topic. It
appeals more to feelings
rather than intellect.
Instead of answering the
argument logically they
attack the persons
character.
Red Herring
When people avoid the main issue by saying
something that isn't related to distract others
Ex: I may have dropped my
mom's plate, but I put up the
rest of the dishes and
started the washer.
She is talking about all
the helpful things she did
to take away from the fact
that she broke the plate.
Examples
Ugh I failed my test, but
today I presented my
project in English and
everyone really liked it.
This is a red herring because
the kid is trying to avoid
talking about their bad test
grade so they bring up their
success on their English
project.
Ad Baculum
Definition: Is a logical fallacy that uses scare
tactics in order to face an argument.
Shows a threat and exaggerates what could happen
because of allowing a certain thing.
Examples
Because of the possibility of
a terrorist hijacking or a
mechanical failure, flying on
a plane is too dangerous and
should be avoided
altogether.
Examples
Because of the
possibility of falling
out of the ride while it
is in motion, people
should not ride roller
coasters.
Definition
Textbook Definition: This is a conclusion
based on insufficient or biased evidence. In
other words, rushing to a conclusion before
you have all the relevant facts.
Personal Definition: when someone says
something and you take that small bit of
information and make your entire opinion of
that person without really knowing anything
else about them.
Examples
My father smoked four packs of cigarettes a
day since age fourteen and lived until age sixtynine. Therefore, smoking really can’t be that
bad for you.
Four out of five dentists recommend Happy
Glossy Smiley toothpaste brand. Therefore, it
must be great.
Slippery Slope
Making the assumption that if one thing happens, a chain of
reactions will occur leading to a malicious consequence, when in
reality the chances of the chain reaction happening are slim.
Kenzie don't write on the board, because if you leave a mark on
the board the extra weight from the marker will slowly tear the
board loose from its foundations in the wall causing it to crash
down and hit the ground which will cause the school’s foundation
to crack and eventually lead to the school collapsing completely.
Slippery Slope
Explanation
Making the argument that the entire
school will collapse just by making a tiny
mark on the board is outrageous because
the chances of the chain of events actually
occurring is not likely at all.