Rhetorical Fallacies
Slippery slope:
• We can’t do ________ . That would lead to
_______ which would lead to ________ .
What slippery slope
argument might
someone against
gun-control make?
They can’t take away ______!
That would lead to ________,
which would lead to _______!
"A free people ought
to be armed."
- George Washington
Emotional Appeal – argument based
on playing with emotions
What’s another way of getting people
to adopt a pet?
Correlation
Causation
Just because they go together, doesn’t
mean that one caused the other.
What’s something a lot of prisoners
might enjoy… but has nothing to do
with a life of crime?
Argument from authority
• I’m right because __________ agrees with me!
• I’m right because I’m a doctor, and I should know!
• I’m right because the Constitution agrees with me!
Ad Hominem
• Name calling! Attacking the person
instead of the issue.
(Ad Hominem
is also a death
metal band…)
Give a real world example of ad hominem.
What would make you want to vote for
someone?
How might someone make an argument
from authority in a commercial?
Categorical Claim
• A stereotypical statement.
• All ________s must _________.
• Republicans must care about personal
freedom!
• True Texans vote for gun rights!
How did Malcolm X make a categorical claim?
Hasty Generalization
• This occurs when you come to a conclusion
after a small amount of evidence.
• The first day of the class was boring, so the
class is going to stink.
• Today is warm! Ha, I knew global warming
was fake!
Real world example…
Explain why good scientists repeat
experiments many times.
Argument from Analogy
• Using comparisons to make a point.
• _____ led to ______, so ______ must lead to
_________.
• The Vietnam War led to innocent civilian deaths, so
this war will too.
• ______ is like _____, so _____ .
• The universe is like a complex watch, so it must
have had a maker too.
Example of argument from analogy…
• When we look at people from the 1960’s we
think __________ ; therefore, people in the
future will probably think we ____________ .
Circular Argument
• Using the thing you want to prove in your
argument.
• Smoking is bad for your health because it causes
health issues.
• Video games are addictive because they cause
people to play them more and more.
Example of circular argument
• Freedom of speech is important because…
Post Hoc Fallacy: false cause and effect
• A came before B, so A must have caused B.
• People who drank Gatorade before the game did
pretty well… Gatorade must give you powers!
How could Post Hoc create
superstitions (strange beliefs)?
Bandwagon
• This is popular, so it must be right/good!