“Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.” – Dr. Spock, Star
Trek

Logical fallacy #1

“Despite the women's movement in the ‘70s, women still do not receive equal pay for equal worth.
Obviously, all such attempts to change the status quo are doomed to failure.”
-University of Notre-Dame Writing Program, http://www.nd.edu/~fwriting/fyc/instructors/LogicalFallacies.shtml

Logical fallacy #1
 Hasty generalization : leaping to a conclusion; unrepresentative

Logical fallacy #2

“Bill Clinton wants television programs to show ratings in order to protect children from adult material, a surprisingly moral position for an adulterer.”
-University of Notre-Dame Writing Program, http://www.nd.edu/~fwriting/fyc/instructors/LogicalFallacies.shtml

Logical fallacy #2
 Ad hominem : Attacking the person rather than the issue

Logical fallacy #3
 Because math scores went down after Sierra Verde became a feeder school for
Mountain Ridge, those students must have caused a decline in the scores.

Logical fallacy #3
 Post hoc : false cause; assumed cause-effect relationship that may not be accurate

Logical fallacy #4

“It is ridiculous to have a gay and lesbian studies program and a department for the study of Native
American culture; we don’t have a straight studies program or a department for Caucasian culture.”
-University of Notre-Dame Writing Program, http://www.nd.edu/~fwriting/fyc/instructors/LogicalFallacies.shtml

Logical fallacy #4
 False analogy : analogy is too weak; the analogs are too different to be worthy of comparison

Logical fallacy #5
 Millions of minorities simply drop out of school before their senior year anyway, so there is no need to fund minoritybased college scholarships.

Logical fallacy #5
 Non sequitur : Something that does not follow; an illogical conclusion that does not follow the premise

Logical fallacy #6

“We may support this petition for a gender studies major, or we may turn our backs on progress, reject the petition, and suffer the consequences.”
-University of Notre-Dame Writing Program, http://www.nd.edu/~fwriting/fyc/instructors/LogicalFallacies.shtml

Logical fallacy #6
 Either/or fallacy : an oversimplification of the issues which leaves only 2 diametrically opposed viewpoints

Logical fallacy #7

I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV and I use Bayer Asprin.

Logical fallacy #7
 Appeal to questionable authority : Just what it says — the use of faulty, overtly biased or otherwise questionable sources

Logical fallacy #8

“We could improve the undergraduate experience with coed dorms since both men and women benefit from living with the opposite gender.”
-University of Notre-Dame Writing Program, http://www.nd.edu/~fwriting/fyc/instructors/LogicalFallacies.shtml

Logical fallacy #8
 Begging the question : the premise is merely an assumption so the conclusion won’t necessarily be true

Logical fallacy #9

“The opposition claims that welfare dependency leads to higher crime rates -- but how are poor people supposed to keep a roof over their heads without our help?”
-Logical Fallacies and the Art of Debate, http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/fallacies.html#Red%20herring

Logical fallacy #9
 Red herring : an irrelevant topic is introduced to divert attention from the topic at hand.

Logical fallacy #10
 "The current Chancellor of
Germany was in the Hitler Youth at age 3. With that sort of background, his so called 'reform' plan must be a facist program."
-The Nizkor Project, http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/geneticfallacy.htmlg

Logical fallacy #10
 Genetic fallacy : a line of "reasoning" in which a perceived defect in the origin of a claim or thing is taken to be evidence that discredits the claim or thing itself. It is also a line of reasoning in which the origin of a claim or thing is taken to be evidence for the claim or thing.

Logical fallacy #11


“Arnold Killembetter’s movie True
Garbage is the greatest movie of all time. No movie has made as much money as it did.”
-
The Skeptic’s Dictionary, http://skepdic.com/adpopulum.html

Logical fallacy #11
 Ad populum : the appeal to the popularity of a claim as a reason for accepting it.

Logical fallacy #12
 "Senator Jones says that we should not fund the attack submarine program. I disagree entirely. I can't understand why he wants to leave us defenseless like that."
-The Nizkor Project, http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/strawman.html

Logical fallacy #12
 Straw man : a deliberate misrepresentation of another’s argument.

Others to know

“Sob story” = appeal to pity
 Equivocation = deliberately using ambiguous or misleading words
 Circular reasoning – relies on its own premise to prove itself
 " Only an untrustworthy person would run for office. The fact that politicians are untrustworthy is proof of this.
“