FALLACIES

A. Fallacies of Relevance

1. Appeal to Force - using force or the threat of force to cause acceptance of a conclusion.
2. ad Hominem (personal attack) - occurs when one make personal attacks on an opponent. Example: You are an idiot. Why should we listen to you.
3. Circumstantial-one "ignores the question of whether their her own view is true or false and seeks instead to prove that their opponent ought to accept it because of that opponent's special circumstances." (p. 100) . Example: Republicans should
4. Argument from Ignorance-occurs when it is argued "that a proposition is true simply on the basis that it has not been proved false" (p. 101). This usually occurs if there is more than two outcomes. Example: It is not raining outside so it mus
5. Appeal to Pity-Example: Your Honor, spare this defendant who murdered his parents because he is an orphan.
6. Appeal to the Crowd-Example: Getting the crowd to influence a referee's decision. Also, appealing to the masses: Everyone is
7. Appeal to Authority-Appealing to an authority figure when the matter is not in the person's special field. Example: Asking a cardiologist about brain tumors when he or she has no expertise in that field. Make use that when you use a source th
8. Accident-"applying a general rule to a particular case whose ‘accidental’ circumstances render the rule inapplicable" (p. 106). Example: "Suppose that a friend when in his right mind has deposited weapons with me and he asks for them when he i
9. Hasty Generalization-coming to a conclusion based on only a few observations. This is the most common type of error.
10. False Cause- an "inference that one event is the cause of another from the mere fact that the first occurs earlier than the second" (p. 107). Example: Cloudy skies cause rain.
11. Begging the Question-"one assumes as a premise for an argument the very conclusion it is intended to prove" (p. 107) Also known as a circular argument. In a free society, we can choose.
12. Complex questions-a statement that contains two or more propositions. Example: Where did you hide the money you stole. (Did you steal money? If so, where did you hide it?)
13. Irrelevant Conclusions-"An argument purporting to establish a particular conclusion is directed to proving a different conclusion" (p. 108)People shouldn't go hungry; therefore we should pass this bill (p. 108).

B. Fallacies of Ambiguity

1. Equivocation-"confusing the different meanings a single word or phrase may have or using it in a different sense in the same context." Example: "Some dogs have fuzzy ears. My dog has fuzzy ears. Therefore, my dog is some dog" (p.120).
2. Amphiboly- "may be true on one interpretation and false on another" (p. 122). Example: "The farmer blew out his brains after taking affectionate farewell of his family with a shotgun" (p. 122). The President has done nothing on drugs.
3. Accent-a statement that can have more than one meaning depending of how it is read. "We should not speak ill of our friends. (p. 123).
4. Composition-reasoning that the parts are the same as the whole. Example: Eggs are light; a two dozen eggs are light.
5. Division-arguing that what is true of the whole is true of the parts. Example:This is a smart class; therefore, each member must be smart.