Logical Fallacies

Stop making crappy arguments

strawman

You misrepresented someone's argument to make it easier to attack.

burden of proof

You said that the burden of proof lies not with the person making the claim, but with someone else to disprove.

genetic

You judged something as either good or bad on the basis of where it comes from, or from whom it came.

anecdotal

You used a personal experience or an isolated example instead of a sound argument or compelling evidence.

false cause

You presumed that a real or perceived relationship between things means that one is the cause of the other.

personal incredulity

Because you found something difficult to understand, or are unaware of how it works, you made out like it's probably not true.

appeal to authority

You said that because an authority thinks something, it must therefore be true.

black-or-white

You presented two alternative states as the only possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist.

middle ground

You claimed that a compromise, or middle point, between two extremes must be the truth.

slippery slope

You said that if we allow A to happen, then B will eventually happen too, therefore A should not happen.

no true scotsman

You made what could be called an appeal to purity as a way to dismiss relevant criticisms or flaws of your argument.

ambiguity

You used a double meaning or ambiguity of language to mislead or misrepresent the truth.

appeal to emotion

You attempted to manipulate an emotional response in place of a valid or compelling argument.

composition/division

You assumed that one part of something has to be applied to all, or other, parts of it; or that the whole must apply to its parts.

bandwagon

You appealed to popularity or the fact that many people do something as an attempted form of validation.

begging the question

You presented a circular argument in which the conclusion was included in the premise.

tu quoque

You avoided having to engage with criticism by turning it back on the accuser - you answered criticism with criticism.

special pleading

You moved the goalposts or made up an exception when your claim was shown to be false.

ambiguity

You used a double meaning or ambiguity of language to mislead or misrepresent the truth.

the sharpshooter

You cherry-picked a data cluster to suit your argument, or found a pattern to fit a presumption.

appeal to nature

You argued that because something is 'natural' it is therefore valid, justified, inevitable, good or ideal.

the fallacy fallacy

You presumed that because a claim has been poorly argued, or a fallacy has been made, that the claim itself must be wrong.

Summary

Question Everything

Logical Fallacies

By trullock

Logical Fallacies

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