How many logical fallacies

An opposite fallacy is that of Moral Licensing. Another obverse of Ad Hominem is the Token Endorsement Fallacy , where, in the words of scholar Lara Bhasin, "Individual A has been accused of anti-Semitism, but Individual B is Jewish and says Individual A is not anti-Semitic, and the implication of course is that we can believe Individual B because, being Jewish, he has special knowledge of anti- Semitism.

Or, a presidential candidate is accused of anti-Muslim bigotry, but someone finds a testimony from a Muslim who voted for said candidate, and this is trotted out as evidence against the candidate's bigotry.

The Affective Fallacy also The Romantic Fallacy; Emotion over Reflection; "Follow Your Heart" : An extremely common modern fallacy of Pathos, that one's emotions, urges or "feelings" are innate and in every case self-validating, autonomous, and above any human intent or act of will one's own or others' , and are thus immune to challenge or criticism.

In fact, researchers now [] have robust scientific evidence that emotions are actually cognitive and not innate. In this fallacy one argues, "I feel it, so it must be true. My feelings are valid, so you have no right to criticize what I say or do, or how I say or do it.

A grossly sexist form of the Affective Fallacy is the well-known crude fallacy that the phallus "Has no conscience" also, "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do;" "Thinking with your other head. See also, Playing on Emotion.

Opposite to this fallacy is the Chosen Emotion Fallacy thanks to scholar Marc Lawson for identifying this fallacy , in which one falsely claims complete, or at least reliable prior voluntary control over one's own autonomic, "gut level" affective reactions.

Closely related if not identical to this last is the ancient fallacy of Angelism, falsely claiming that one is capable of "objective" reasoning and judgment without emotion, claiming for oneself a viewpoint of Olympian "disinterested objectivity" or pretending to place oneself far above all personal feelings, temptations or bias.

See also, Mortification. This fallacy has recently become common in media pharmaceutical advertising in the United States, where "Alphabet Soup" is used to create false identification with and to exploit patient groups suffering from specific illnesses or conditions, e.

Writer Hannah Arendt, in her The Origins of Totalitarianism warned that "The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.

The opposite of this fallacy is the Paralysis of Analysis. The Appeal to Heaven : also, Argumentum ad Coelum, Deus Vult, Gott mit Uns, Manifest Destiny, American Exceptionalism, or the Special Covenant : An ancient, extremely dangerous fallacy a deluded argument from ethos that of claiming to know the mind of God or History, or a higher power , who has allegedly ordered or anointed, supports or approves of one's own country, standpoint or actions so no further justification is required and no serious challenge is possible.

Practiced by those who will not or cannot tell God's will from their own, this vicious and blasphemous fallacy has been the cause of endless bloodshed over history. See also, Moral Superiority, and Magical Thinking. Also applies to deluded negative Appeals to Heaven, e. The Appeal to Nature also, Biologizing; The Green Fallacy : The contemporary romantic fallacy of ethos that of "Mother Nature" that if something is "natural" it has to be good, healthy and beneficial.

Radicans leaves. A corrupt argument from pathos. See also, Playing to Emotions. The opposite of the Appeal to Pity is the Appeal to Rigor, an argument often based on machismo or on manipulating an audience's fear based on mercilessness. A corrupted argument from ethos that of past generations.

Don't argue with them, just give'em what they want so they'll shut up and go away, and not make a stink--it's cheaper and easier than a lawsuit. The works of the late Community Organizing guru Saul Alinsky suggest practical, nonviolent ways for groups to harness the power of this fallacy to promote social change, for good or for evil.. See also Bribery. The Argument from Consequences also, Outcome Bias : The major fallacy of logos, arguing that something cannot be true because if it were the consequences or outcome would be unacceptable.

I can't have terminal cancer, because if I did that'd mean that I won't live to see my kids get married! So, that proves the Genesis six-day creation account is literally true as written! What about that? That proves you're wrong and I'm right! That proves that you poisoned him! The recently famous "Flying Spaghetti Monster" meme is a contemporary refutation of this fallacy--simply because we cannot conclusively disprove the existence of such an absurd entity does not argue for its existence.

The Argument from Incredulity : The popular fallacy of doubting or rejecting a novel claim or argument out of hand simply because it appears superficially "incredible," "insane" or "crazy," or because it goes against one's own personal beliefs, prior experience or ideology.

This cynical fallacy falsely elevates the saying popularized by Carl Sagan, that "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof," to an absolute law of logic.

See also Hoyle's Fallacy. The common, popular-level form of this fallacy is dismissing surprising, extraordinary or unfamiliar arguments and evidence with a wave of the hand, a shake of the head, and a mutter of "that's crazy! A variety of the Ad Hominem argument. The opposite side of this fallacy is falsely justifying or excusing evil or vicious actions because of the perpetrator's aparent purity of motives or lack of malice.

How can you stand there and accuse her of child abuse? Argumentum ad Baculum "Argument from the Club. Argumentum ad Mysteriam "Argument from Mystery;" also Mystagogy. The Puritan Reformation was in large part a rejection of this fallacy. When used knowingly and deliberately this fallacy is particularly vicious and accounts for some of the fearsome persuasive power of cults.

See also, Esoteric Knowledge. Argumentum ex Silentio Argument from Silence : The fallacy that if available sources remain silent or current knowledge and evidence can prove nothing about a given subject or question this fact in itself proves the truth of one's claim. That proves God doesn't exist.

Hixon can offer no alibi for his whereabouts the evening of January 15th. This proves that he was in fact in room at the Smuggler's Inn, murdering his wife with a hatchet! See also, Argument from Ignorance. Availability Bias also, Attention Bias, Anchoring Bias : A fallacy of logos stemming from the natural tendency to give undue attention and importance to information that is immediately available at hand, particularly the first or last information received, and to minimize or ignore broader data or wider evidence that clearly exists but is not as easily remembered or accessed.

Also related is the fallacy of Hyperbole [also, Magnification, or sometimes Catastrophizing] where an immediate instance is immediately proclaimed "the most significant in all of human history," or the "worst in the whole world! The Bandwagon Fallacy also, Argument from Common Sense, Argumentum ad Populum : The fallacy of arguing that because "everyone," "the people," or "the majority" or someone in power who has widespread backing supposedly thinks or does something, it must therefore be true and right.

There may not be any evidence, but for anyone with half a brain that conclusively proves that Crooked Bob should go to jail! Lock him up! When information cascades form a pattern, this pattern can begin to overpower later opinions by making it seem as if a consensus already exists.

For the opposite of this fallacy see the Romantic Rebel fallacy. So long as you are faithfully following orders without question I will defend you and gladly accept all the consequences up to and including eternal damnation if I'm wrong. BUT, your crime was so unspeakable and a trial would be so problematic for national security that it justifies locking you up for life in Guantanamo without trial, conviction or possibility of appeal.

Sometimes the bolder and more outlandish the Big Lie becomes the more credible it seems to a willing, most often angry audience. Writer Miles J. The November, U. President-elect's statement that "millions" of ineligible votes were cast in that year's American. This is over-reliance on authority, a gravely corrupted argument from ethos that puts loyalty above truth, above one's own reason and above conscience.

You're a hard worker but who am I going to believe, you or him? You're fired! Brainwashing also, Propaganda, "Radicalization. They're trying to brainwash you with their propaganda! Such "brainwashing" can also be accomplished by pleasure " Love Bombing ," ; e. I know you did. Well, there's lots more where that came from when you sign on with us!

Note: Only the other side brainwashes. The fallacy of "persuasion" by bribery, gifts or favors is the reverse of the Argumentum ad Baculum. As is well known, someone who is persuaded by bribery rarely "stays persuaded" in the long term unless the bribes keep on coming in and increasing with time.

See also Appeasement. Calling "Cards": A contemporary fallacy of logos, arbitrarily and falsely dismissing familiar or easily-anticipated but valid, reasoned objections to one's standpoint with a wave of the hand, as mere "cards" in some sort of "game" of rhetoric, e. Because witches threaten our very eternal salvation. See also the "Big Lie technique.

A corruption of the argument from logos. Confirmation Bias: A fallacy of logos, the common tendency to notice, search out, select and share evidence that confirms one's own standpoint and beliefs, as opposed to contrary evidence. This fallacy is how "fortune tellers" work--If I am told I will meet a "tall, dark stranger" I will be on the lookout for a tall, dark stranger, and when I meet someone even marginally meeting that description I will marvel at the correctness of the "psychic's" prediction.

In contemporary times Confirmation Bias is most often seen in the tendency of various audiences to "curate their political environments, subsisting on one-sided information diets and [even] selecting into politically homogeneous neighborhoods" Michael A. Neblo et al. Confirmation Bias also, Homophily means that people tend to seek out and follow solely those media outlets that confirm their common ideological and cultural biases, sometimes to an degree that leads a the false implicit or even explicit conclusion that "everyone" agrees with that bias and that anyone who doesn't is "crazy," "looney," evil or even "radicalized.

It may be nothing but a clunker that can't make it up a steep hill, but it's mine , and to me it's better than some millionaire's limo. The opposite of this fallacy is that of Nihilism "Tear it all down! Defensiveness also, Choice-support Bias: Myside Bias : A fallacy of ethos one's own , in which after one has taken a given decision, commitment or course of action, one automatically tends to defend that decision and to irrationally dismiss opposing options even when one's decision later on proves to be shaky or wrong.

Sure, he turned out to be a crook and a liar and he got us into war, but I still say that at that time he was better than the available alternatives! Diminished Responsibility : The common contemporary fallacy of applying a specialized judicial concept that criminal punishment should be less if one's judgment was impaired to reality in general.

Whether the perpetrator was high or not does not matter at all since the material results are the same. This also includes the fallacy of Panic , a very common contemporary fallacy that one's words or actions, no matter how damaging or evil, somehow don't "count" because "I panicked!

Dog-Whistle Politics: An extreme version of reductionism and sloganeering in the public sphere, a contemporary fallacy of logos and pathos in which a brief phrase or slogan of the hour, e. Any reasoned attempt to more clearly identify, deconstruct or challenge an opponent's "dog whistle" appeal results in puzzled confusion at best and wild, irrational fury at worst.

A common but sad instance of the fallacy of Dog Whistle Politics is that of candidate "debaters" of differing political shades simply blowing a succession of discursive "dog whistles" at their audience instead of addressing, refuting or even bothering to listen to each other's arguments, a situation resulting in contemporary allegations that the political Right and Left in America are speaking "different languages" when they are simply blowing different "dog whistles.

In this fallacy of logos an otherwise uninformed audience is presented with carefully selected and groomed, "shocking facts" and then prompted to immediately "draw their own conclusions.

However, Dr. William Lorimer points out that "The only rational response to the non-argument is 'So what? The Dunning-Kruger Effect: A cognitive bias that leads people of limited skills or knowledge to mistakenly believe their abilities are greater than they actually are.

Thanks to Teaching Tolerance for this definition! Anthony won equal rights for women, and Martin Luther King said "I have a dream! Why do I need to take a history course? I know everything about history! An extreme example of this fallacy is Waving the Bloody Shirt also , the "Blood of the Martyrs" Fallacy , the fallacy that a cause or argument, no matter how questionable or reprehensible, cannot be questioned without dishonoring the blood and sacrifice of those who died so nobly for that cause.

What's it gonna be? Also applies to falsely contrasting one option or case to another that is not really opposed, e. Or, falsely posing a choice of either helping needy American veterans or helping needy foreign refugees, when in fact in today's United States there are ample resources available to easily do both should we care to do so.

See also, Overgeneralization. Equivocation : The fallacy of deliberately failing to define one's terms, or knowingly and deliberately using words in a different sense than the one the audience will understand. Historically, this referred to a tactic used during the Reformation-era religious wars in Europe, when people were forced to swear loyalty to one or another side and did as demanded via "equivocation," i.

The Eschatological Fallacy: The ancient fallacy of arguing, "This world is coming to an end, so There are some things that we as humans are simply not meant to know! Also refers to the fallacy of arguing that something is a certain way "by nature," an empty claim that no amount of proof can refute.

See also, "Red Herring" and "Appeal to Nature. Don't you know that the French word for "fish" is 'poisson,' which looks just like the English word 'poison'? And doesn't that suggest something to you? As Texas politician and humorist Jim Hightower famously declares in an undated quote, " The middle of the road is for yellow lines and dead armadillos. An adolescent fallacy of pathos, attempting to defend or strengthen one's argument with gratuitous, unrelated sexual, obscene, vulgar, crude or profane language when such language does nothing to make an argument stronger, other than perhaps to create a sense of identity with certain young male "urban" audiences.

This fallacy also includes adding gratuitous sex scenes or "adult" language to an otherwise unrelated novel or movie, sometimes simply to avoid the dreaded "G" rating. Related to this fallacy is the Salacious Fallacy , falsely attracting attention to and thus potential agreement with one's argument by inappropriately sexualizing it, particularly connecting it to some form of sex that is perceived as deviant, perverted or prohibited E. Historically, this dangerous fallacy was deeply implicated with the crime of lynching, in which false, racist accusations against a Black or minority victim were almost always salacious in nature and the sensation involved was successfully used to whip up public emotion to a murderous pitch.

See also, Red Herring. The False Analogy : The fallacy of incorrectly comparing one thing to another in order to draw a false conclusion. Finish the Job: The dangerous contemporary fallacy, often aimed at a lesser-educated or working class audience, that an action or standpoint or the continuation of that action or standpoint may not be questioned or discussed because there is "a job to be done" or finished, falsely assuming "jobs" are meaningless but never to be questioned.

Sometimes those involved internalize "buy into" the "job" and make the task a part of their own ethos. But I guess it's OK because for them it's just a job like any other, the job that they get paid to do. I can say anything I want to! I think I'm going to cry! Bill Hart Davidson notes that "Ironically, the most strident calls for 'safety' come from those who want us to issue protections for discredited ideas. Things that science doesn't support AND that have destroyed lives - things like the inherent superiority of one race over another.

Those ideas wither under demands for evidence. But let's be clear: they are unwelcome because they have not survived the challenge of scrutiny.

Additionally, a recent scientific study has found that, in fact, " people think harder and produce better political arguments when their views are challenged " and not artificially protected without challenge. The Fundamental Attribution Error also, Self Justification : A corrupt argument from ethos, this fallacy occurs as a result of observing and comparing behavior.

So, for example, I get up in the morning at 10 a. I say it is because my neighbors party until 2 in the morning situation but I say that the reason why you do it is that you are lazy. Interestingly, it is more common in individualistic societies where we value self volition. Collectivist societies tend to look at the environment more. It happens there, too, but it is much less common. Me, or your own eyes? Think again! You're crazy! You seriously need to see a shrink. Now take a time-out and you'll feel better.

A form of Ad Hominem Argument, e. She's a Republican so you can't trust anything she says," or "Are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party? Hero-Busting also, "The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good" : A postmodern fallacy of ethos under which, since nothing and nobody in this world is perfect there are not and have never been any heroes: Washington and Jefferson held slaves, Lincoln was by our contemporary standards a racist, Karl Marx sexually exploited his family's own young live-in domestic worker and got her pregnant, Martin Luther King Jr.

An early example of this latter tactic is deftly described in Robert Penn Warren's classic novel, All the King's Men. For more information, check out our privacy policy. While some come in the form of loud, glaring inconsistencies, others can easily fly under the radar, sneaking into everyday meetings and conversations undetected. Having an understanding of these basic logical fallacies can help you more confidently parse the arguments and claims you participate in and witness on a daily basis -- separating fact from sharply dressed fiction.

Our list is by no means an exhaustive guide to every formal and informal fallacy, but it should help you build better arguments and identify logical missteps. This fallacy occurs when your opponent over-simplifies or misrepresents your argument i.

Instead of fully addressing your actual argument, speakers relying on this fallacy present a superficially similar -- but ultimately not equal -- version of your real stance, helping them create the illusion of easily defeating you.

Lola: You're saying we should throw our money away on external resources instead of building up our in-house design team? That's going to hurt our company in the long run. Just because a significant population of people believe a proposition is true, doesn't automatically make it true.

Popularity alone is not enough to validate an argument, though it's often used as a standalone justification of validity. Arguments in this style don't take into account whether or not the population validating the argument is actually qualified to do so, or if contrary evidence exists. While most of us expect to see bandwagon arguments in advertising e.

The majority of people believe advertisers should spend more money on billboards, so billboards are objectively the best form of advertisement.

While appeals to authority are by no means always fallacious, they can quickly become dangerous when you rely too heavily on the opinion of a single person -- especially if that person is attempting to validate something outside of their expertise. Getting an authority figure to back your proposition can be a powerful addition to an existing argument, but it can't be the pillar your entire argument rests on.

Just because someone in a position of power believes something to be true, doesn't make it true. Despite the fact that our Q4 numbers are much lower than usual, we should push forward using the same strategy because our CEO Barbara says this is the best approach.

This common fallacy misleads by presenting complex issues in terms of two inherently opposed sides. Instead of acknowledging that most if not all issues can be thought of on a spectrum of possibilities and stances, the false dilemma fallacy asserts that there are only two mutually exclusive outcomes.

This fallacy is particularly problematic because it can lend false credence to extreme stances, ignoring opportunities for compromise or chances to re-frame the issue in a new way. We can either agree with Barbara's plan, or just let the project fail. There is no other option. This fallacy occurs when someone draws expansive conclusions based on inadequate or insufficient evidence. In other words, they jump to conclusions about the validity of a proposition with some -- but not enough -- evidence to back it up, and overlook potential counterarguments.

Two members of my team have become more engaged employees after taking public speaking classes. That proves we should have mandatory public speaking classes for the whole company to improve employee engagement. Slothful induction is the exact inverse of the hasty generalization fallacy above. This fallacy occurs when sufficient logical evidence strongly indicates a particular conclusion is true, but someone fails to acknowledge it, instead attributing the outcome to coincidence or something unrelated entirely.

Even though every project Brad has managed in the last two years has run way behind schedule, I still think we can chalk it up to unfortunate circumstances, not his project management skills.

If two things appear to be correlated, this doesn't necessarily indicate that one of those things irrefutably caused the other thing. This might seem like an obvious fallacy to spot, but it can be challenging to catch in practice -- particularly when you really want to find a correlation between two points of data to prove your point.

Our blog views were down in April. We also changed the color of our blog header in April. This means that changing the color of the blog header led to less views in April. In place of logical evidence, this fallacy substitutes examples from someone's personal experience. Arguments that rely heavily on anecdotal evidence tend to overlook the fact that one possibly isolated example can't stand alone as definitive proof of a greater premise.

One of our clients doubled their conversions after changing all their landing page text to bright red. Therefore, changing all text to red is a proven way to double conversions. This fallacy gets its colorful name from an anecdote about a Texan who fires his gun at a barn wall, and then proceeds to paint a target around the closest cluster of bullet holes.

He then points at the bullet-riddled target as evidence of his expert marksmanship. Getting on the bandwagon is one such instance of an ad populum appeal. If you were a true American you would support the rights of people to choose whatever vehicle they want. In this example, the author equates being a "true American," a concept that people want to be associated with, particularly in a time of war, with allowing people to buy any vehicle they want even though there is no inherent connection between the two.

Red Herring: This is a diversionary tactic that avoids the key issues, often by avoiding opposing arguments rather than addressing them. The level of mercury in seafood may be unsafe, but what will fishers do to support their families? In this example, the author switches the discussion away from the safety of the food and talks instead about an economic issue, the livelihood of those catching fish.

While one issue may affect the other it does not mean we should ignore possible safety issues because of possible economic consequences to a few individuals. Straw Man: This move oversimplifies an opponent's viewpoint and then attacks that hollow argument.

In this example, the author attributes the worst possible motive to an opponent's position. In reality, however, the opposition probably has more complex and sympathetic arguments to support their point.

By not addressing those arguments, the author is not treating the opposition with respect or refuting their position. Moral Equivalence: This fallacy compares minor misdeeds with major atrocities, suggesting that both are equally immoral. In this example, the author is comparing the relatively harmless actions of a person doing their job with the horrific actions of Hitler.

This comparison is unfair and inaccurate. Logical Fallacies Summary: This resource covers using logic within writing—logical vocabulary, logical fallacies, and other types of logos-based reasoning. Even though it's only the first day, I can tell this is going to be a boring course. I drank bottled water and now I am sick, so the water must have made me sick.