Name:
Logical Fallacies = Faulty Reasoning NOTES
Type of Fallacy
Definition
Either/or
assumes only ______options or
alternatives. Presents only two when
one is clearly more _____________.
uses ________________ charged
words to produce strong
__________or ___________
reactions
makes complicated issues
Oversimplification
___________ to __________
Loaded words
LITERATURE
Example
1. A mother may tell her child: “Eat your broccoli or you won’t get dessert.”
2. President George W. Bush: “You're either with us or against us.”
"Why suffer the embarrassment of morning mouth? Use ZYX toothpaste every
evening and wake up to a fresh, exciting mouth."
School violence has gone up and academic performance has gone down ever
since organized prayer was banned at public schools. Therefore, prayer should be
reintroduced, resulting in school improvement.
changes the ____________ to
_____________ from the real
argument
“You may think that he cheated on the test, but look at the poor little thing! How
would he feel if you made him take it again?”
Straw man
______________ the other side of
the _____________ as ridiculous
Person one: "Evolution has been the main engine of speciation throughout
natural history."
Person two: "Evolution is false! How could a mouse evolve into an elephant!?"
Appeal to
ignorance
suggests that if a claim has not been
proven __________, then it must be
_________
1."No one has ever proved that the Loch Ness Monster exists, so it must not
exist."
2."No one has ever proved that the Loch Ness Monster does not exist, so it must
exist."
Bandwagon
promotes the idea that if everyone
does it or ____________ it, it must
be ___________
1. A Poor Patriot: “It’s alright for me to cheat on my taxes because everyone else
does it.”
2. Your teenage daughter asks: “Everyone else is camping overnight without
chaperones, so why can’t I?”
Broad
generalization
claims something to be _________
for all members of a ___________
If we observe 100 birds that look like ravens and they are all black, it is
reasonable to conclude that birds that look like ravens will be black.
uses a claim as foundational
_________ -the second half of a
writer’s argument simply
___________ the first half.
1. My wife forgets things because she has a bad memory.
2. My husband is tired because he’s sleepy
Red herring
Circular thinking