ADDITIONAL LOGIC FALLACY EXAMPLES
A red herring:
- If welfare is cut off, many children will die of slow starvation ,or they’ll freeze to death in the
pitiful, unheated slum buildings that they have to live in through no fault of their own.
- I fail to see why hunting should be considered cruel when it gives tremendous pleasure to many
people and employment to even more.
- If we really believe in the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we would have
abolished prisons long ago.
- How can nuclear energy be so bad if it is our best source of energy?
- American workers shouldn’t complain. They’re much better off than their European counterparts, and all this complaining will only undermine our great system.
- Some members of our police force may be corrupt, but there are also corrupt politicians,
corrupt plumbers, corrupt salespeople, and even corrupt preachers
.
A straw man:
- People are vegetarians only because they are poor.
- People who want abortion legalized are just unwilling to share their incomes or time with
children.
- The only reason you won’t give us all A’s is because you want our grades to form a
perfect bell curve.
Ad populum/demagoguery/mob appeal:
- Here in the South, white people are the cause of all black people’s problems. OR
Here in the South, black people are the cause of all white people’s problems.
- The only thing wrong with our country is all the lazy people on welfare trying to get something
for nothing.
- All loyal Americans will deplore the passage of this ridiculous bill.
Ad hominem/name calling:
- Why should we listen to anything Kennedy has to say about family values when he’s such a
womanizer?
- Anyone who knows anything about Chinese history would recognize that what I’m saying is
true. [Insults whoever is arguing against the speaker by saying that anyone who disagrees with
the speaker doesn’t know anything about Chinese history.]
- Don’t vote for Jones. He spends much of his free time hanging around with known criminals,
drug addicts, and deviants. [Actually he spends most of his free time helping the elderly and
performing volunteer work in the hospitals of Skid Row which makes this particular namecalling “guilt by association.”]
- Ignore Jones’ lofty arguments about the health benefits of fluoridation. Jones supports the
fluoridation bill pending in Congress simply because he owns a major fluoridation firm which
will reap huge dividends if this bill passes. How can we possibly trust a man who has such a
vested interest?
- Limp-wristed, quiche-eating Californians are incapable of serious thought. To learn anything
about politics or the real world, talk to a New Yorker.
- Don’t pay any attention to your psychoanalysist. After all, Freud, himself, was neurotic.
Begging the question:
- Everyone knows that our drug problem is caused by the Columbian cartel, so let’s target our
anti-drug efforts at them.
- We all know Italians love pizza. Therefore, let’s take a pizza over to Mario’s for dinner.
- Since we all agree that Susan is the best student in the class, call her if you need to get notes
you missed or help with your homework.
- Everyone knows rap music is not really music, so we shouldn’t include any examples of it in
our program.
Circular reasoning:
- He’s late because he didn’t get here on time
- The checks bounced because we didn’t have enough money in the bank.
- God exists!
How do you know?
The Bible says so.
How do you know that what the Bible says is true?
Because the Bible is the word of God.
Non sequitur:
-
We have to go the the bakery because I need to buy some flowers.
I need a $1000 because you don’t need it.
Vegetarians are poor so they have a lot of children.
Don’t make me laugh--my foot hurts.
Clean your room. The gardener is coming.
Post hoc ergo propter hoc:
- It was over a 100 degrees yesterday, and we had an earthquake; therefore, extremely hot
weather is one of the causes of earthquakes.
- Since sober and industrious farmers own at least one cow, while farmers who have no cows are
usually lazy and drunken; the government should give cows to all farmers who do not have
cows to make these farmers more sober and industrious.
- The patient became violently ill after eating lunch. Yet she showed no signs of illness prior to
eating, she had no medical history of physical problems, and she was in good spirits during the
meal. Therefore, the patient was the victim of food poisoning.
Bandwagon:
- Listen to country music. Everyone does.
- You have to let me dye my hair pink. Everyone’s doing it.
- Don’t be the only one on your block who doesn’t own a Sony.
Just plain folks:
- Let’s tax the restaurants more. Just like you, I never throw away my hard-earned money
eatin’ at fancy pants places.
- We’ve gotta tell those uppity city slickers to leave us country folk alone. Our pigs will start
birthin’ cows afore we let them city folk have our land
- I know exactly how you feel. My wife, Hilary, and I were talking just before I came here about
our daughter, Chelsea. We’re worried about her future just like you all are worrying about your
children.
Overgeneralization:
-
My mother was a bad driver. Therefore, all women are bad drivers.
Jogging often causes shin splints, so people should never jog.
I’m sure all Italians like pizza because I have an Italian friend who loves it.
It must be true that all blonds are dumb. I know a blond who is really, really dumb.
She must be a horrible mother. Look how dirty her kids’ clothes are.
He must be nice. His name is Jim, and I haven’t known anyone named Jim who wasn’t nice.
Sweeping generalization:
- Everyone has a right to keep his or her own property. Therefore, even though Jones was
declared mentally insane, you had no right to take away his weapon.
- I believe in the golden rule as an inherent duty to do unto others as I would have them do unto
me; and if I were puzzled by a question on an examination, I would want my neighbor to help
me. So it is my duty to help the person sitting next to me who has asked me to give him/her an
answer to a question on an exam.
- Everyone should jog or do strenuous walking at least 2 to 3 times every week. Don’t let that
silly, third-stage smog alert keep you indoors.
- Since we should always tell the truth, I should tell Mary, who is playing hide-and-seek, where
all the other children are hiding.
Fallacy of accent:
- Nothing is too good for her.
- What is hell? Come to church next Sunday and listen to our new minister.
- Mary got an A in speech!
Equivocation/ambiguity:
- Stealing is sometimes justifiable. In baseball it’s even honorable.
- It is silly to fight over mere words. Apartheid is just a word. Therefore, it is silly to fight over
apartheid.
- There is no fool like an old fool, so all fools are young.
- Since all men are created equal, all men are the same height.
Fallacy of composition:
- If you can read a recipe, you can cook.
- Every sentence in this book is well written. Therefore, this book is well written.
- Each of the players on the team has been voted the best player in the league for his/her
position. Therefore, this team must be the best team in the league.
- Eating this piece of pie now is good for my digestion. Therefore, eating an entire pie at once
must be good for my digestion.
- It’s not going to help the energy crisis to have people ride in buses instead of cars. Buses use
more gas than cars. [This is true only when comparing one bus to one car, not when
comparing one bus to the group of cars that bus would replace.]
Fallacy of division:
- The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is the best orchestra in the country; therefore, its first
violinist is the best violinist in the country.
- This restaurant is the best in the state; therefore, its burgers must be great.
- This book is written in English. Therefore, every sentence in this book must be written in
English.
- Since the city revenues have fallen off, I propose a 20% across-the-board cut for all city
departments. We’ll just have to get along with four-fifths of the service we’ve been used to.
[The fallacy with this is that a 20% reduction in revenues to a department could result in less
than a 20% reduction in services or much more if the reductions make the department totally
incapable of functioning.]
Fallacy of the complex question/loaded question/trick question:
-
Are you still a heavy drinker?
What did you use to wipe your fingerprints off the gun?
How long had you contemplated the robbery before you carried it out?
Can you afford to continue to run the risk of having your office accessible to prowlers?
Which one of you left the door open?
Where did you go before you slashed my tires?
Where did you stash the money you embezzled?
Bifurcation:
- You’re either for us or against us. If you’re not for us, you’re against us.
- If we are going to buy a car, we have to buy a good one or a cheap one. We can’t afford a
good one, and we don’t want a cheap one; so we’ll just have to do without a car.
- Which would you rather be: right or happy?
- Either she knew everything that was going on, in which case she’s a liar; or alternatively, she’s
a fool and she knew nothing.
False analogy:
- They just don’t care about traffic law enforcement in this town, for they let ambulances go at
any speed they like and let them run red lights too.
- Why should mine workers complain about working ten hours a day? Professional people often
work at least that long without any apparent harm. [Unfortunately, the work performed and the
working conditions are not the same.]
- No body can be healthy without exercise, neither human bodies nor government bodies.
Therefore, war should not be avoided because for a country or kingdom it is true exercise.
- Student government is a mistake. Look what happens in homes where parents let children run
things their own way.
- Why should we sentimentalize over a few hundred thousand Native Americans who were hurt
when our great civilization was built? It may be that they suffered injustices, but you can’t
make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.
Special pleading/double standard:
- I think on-stage nudity is disgusting, but if I were 22 with a great body, I think it would be
artistic, tasteful, patriotic, and a progressive, religious experience.
- This group of students has quite a few practical jokers and is quite lively, unlike the gang
they’re playing basketball against. Those hoodlums are incredibly noisy and destructive.
- I was shocked to hear how opportunistic your son was calling the widow so shortly after the
tragic death of her husband. My son, on the hand, should be commended for how enterprising
he was when he accidentally bumped into the widow at her husband’s funeral and brought up
the subject of what to do with the fine inheritance she had received from the passing away of
her dear, departed loved one.
- Fred received a check today from his father to help him survive his tedious job search. Later
he met up with his lazy cousin, Bill, downtown, after Bill had gone to a job interview and had
collected his government dole from the welfare office.
- I’m poor. You’re a lazy bum.
- I’m funny. You’re a fool.
Fallacy of appealing to authority:
- Official sources suggested . . .
- An unidentified spokesperson disclosed . . .
- Brut must be a good cologne. Joe Namath uses it.
Fallacy of appealing to ignorance:
- There is intelligent life in outer space, for no one has been able to prove that there isn’t.
- I know that every action we perform is predetermined because no one has proved we have free
will.
- There is no proof that the dean leaked the news to the papers, so I’m sure she didn’t.
- Despite the surgeon general’s report and years of scientific studies, there is no definite link
between smoking and lung cancer. Therefore, smoking is not harmful to your lungs.
Fallacy of snob appeal:
-
Camel filters. They’re not for everybody.
We make the most expensive wine in America.
Our salon is where all the beautiful people of Hollywood come for makeovers.
Lexus is not for the ordinary man. It’s for the exceptionally successful and discerning man.
We may cost a little more, but the extra class is worth it, isn’t it?
Discriminating palates prefer champagne X
Fallacy of appealing to fear:
-
A vote for my opponent is a vote for war.
Be home by 12:00 or else!
You don’t want to be a social outcast, do you? Then you’d better join us tomorrow.
I think I was safe. If you call me out, I’m going to take my ball and go home.
I think you had better agree with us about capital punishment, or we’ll vote you out of office.
If you do not convict this murderer, one of you may be his next victim.
Appeal to pity:
- I’m on probation, sir. If I don’t get a good grade in this course, I’ll be kicked out of this
school, and my father will beat the hell out of me. So, please, could you at least give me a C?
- Oh, officer, don’t give me a ticket. I just received some terrible news about my father, and I’m
so upset I can’t think straight.
- How can you give me an F on this paper? I stayed up all night three nights in a row working
on it.