6. List of Fallacies

For Educational Use Only.  Not for Commercial Use. 






Fallacies

Argument from Outrage 
Persuading by provoking anger, usually with inflammatory words followed by a “conclusion” of some sort. 

Scapegoating 
Placing blame on an individual or group who are not responsible. 

Scare Tactics 
Scaring someone by describing a frightening situation without offering proof. 

Argument by Force 
Threatening someone, telling them what will happen if they do not comply. 

Argument by Pity 
Supporting a claim by arousing pity rather than offering legitimate arguments. 

Apple Polishing 
Flattery is disguised as a reason for accepting a claim. 

Guilt Trip 
Making someone feel guilty for not accepting an argument. 

Wishful Thinking 
Accepting a claim because you want it to be true or rejecting it because you don’t want it to be true. 

Peer Pressure Argument 
The threat of rejection by your peers, friends, or relatives if you do not accept an argument. 

Group Think Fallacy 
Allowing faith in the groups decisions to replace your own reasons. 

Nationalism 
An emotional attachment to one’s own country  which leads them to their country is the best. 

Rationalizing 
Using a false pretext in order to satisfy your own desires or interests. 

Argument from popularity 
Acceptance or urging to accept a claim simply because all or most people believe it. 

Argument from common Practice 
The attempt to justify actions based on the idea that “everyone does it.” 

Argument from tradition 
Saying a claim is true based on the idea that the action has been accepted and/or practiced for a long period of time. 

Subjectivism 
Opinion – The assumption that what is true for one person is not necessarily true for another. 

Relativist fallacy 
The view where two different cultures can be correct in their differing opinions on the same factual matter. 

Two Wrongs make a Right 
Reasoning that if it’s acceptable for A to do X to B because B is doing X to A. 

Red Herring/Smoke Screen 
An irrelevant topic or consideration introduced into a discussion to divert attention from the original issue. 

Ad hominem 
Rebutting a source’s claim based on a characteristics of the source rather than to the argument or claim or position. 

Personal Attack Ad Hominem 
Not accepting a person’s argument because there is something about the person you don’t like or disprove of. 

Inconsistency Ad Hominem 
The belif that if an individual has changed their mind, they can not be trusted. 

Circumstantial Ad Hominem 
The attempt to discredit a claim by referring to a speaker’s circumstances. 

Poisoning the Well 
Attempt to discredit another’s clam in advance by giving unfavorable information about a person. 

Genetic Fallacy 
Rejecting a claim on the basis of its origin or history (usually about a group) 

Positive Ad Hominem 
Building up the speaker prior to the speaker’s appearance. 

Strawman /Strawperson 
Fallacious reasoning where the actual position of the opponent is ignored and the position is distorted, exaggerated, or misrepresented. 

False Dilemma 
The reasoning that there must be an either or decision when in fact both options my be possible simultaneously. 

Perfectionist Fallacy 
Rejection in whole of an idea because it does not accomplish its goal to perfection. 

Line-drawing Fallacy 
Insisting that a precise point must be determined when no point is necessary. 

Slippery Slope 
Fallacious reasoning- belief that some event must inevitably flow into another event in which no argument is given for the inevitability. 

Misplaced Burden of Proof 
The burden of proof is falsely placed on the wrong side.  Can be when a lack of evidence is taken as proof for the claim. 

Appeal to Ignorance 
The view that an absence of evidence against a claim counts as evidence for that same claim. 

Begging the Question 
The conclusion is simply a restatement of the premises.