Fallacies, tricks and errors
A fallacy is a faulty or unreliable type of argument (Warburton page 79). Fallacies may be accidental, because someone is careless or does not recognize the error, or done purposely to try to mislead. Note that just because a fallacy has been committed it does not necessarily follow that the conclusion is wrong (see the fallacy fallacy). Other types of faulty reasoning do not fit the strict definition of a fallacy, but still need to be watched for.
Ad hominem arguments, poisoning the well and other personal attacks. The person making the claim is criticized and the argument itself is ignored.
Failure to consider alternative explanations
Appeal to authority Arguing that a claim is true based on someone's expertise; dogma.
Appeal to ignorance. Claiming that whatever has not been disproved must be true.
Appeal to popularity Claim that something is good or true because it is popular
Arbitrariness Claim that a definition or rule is arbitrary
Arguments From Age. Claiming that an idea is good (or bad) because it is old (or new).
Burden of proof. It is up to the person making the claim to prove it, not up to someone else to disprove it.
The complex or loaded question
Equivocation Using different definitions of the same word.
Fallacies of evidence and causality including hasty generalization, biased data, cherry picking, confirmation bias, gamblers's fallacy, clusters, post hoc fallacy and correlation
The fallacy fallacy is the claim that if an argument contains a fallacy then the conclusion is wrong
False dichotomy. You are presented with two alternatives, such as owls or jobs, the economy or the environment, when there are really more than two alternatives.
Inconsistency Claiming that a person's actions are inconsistent with their claims.
Jargon and Mubo-jumbo Use of specialized terms in general writing.
Kettle defense Making multiple claims of innocence that contradict each other. (off site)
Omitted evidence Leaving out evidence that would weaken the conclusion of an argument.
Red herring Discussing a topic that is not the actual topic. Information irrelevant to the discussion.
Fallacies about rules including special pleading, double standard, moving the goalposts and the moving target.
Scare tactics including appeal to force or threat, appeal to fear, scare words, and slippery slope arguments.
Straw man. Distorting an argument to make it easier to disprove.
Straw opponent An easily defeated made up opponent.
Wishful thinking Believing that something is true because it would be nice if it were true.
Case studies:
A fish story (Dixy Lee Ray and dioxin)
Beckermania (Wilfred Beckerman and economic growth)
The Bum's Rush: Phrases and Fallacies of Rush Limbaugh: The Selling of Environmental Backlash By Don Trent Jacobs, Legendary Publishing Company, 1994. Looks at various fallacies and propaganda tactics. Reviews and Comments on The Bum's Rush
Logic and Mr. Limbaugh: A Dittohead's Guide to Fallacious Reasoning by Ray Perkins, Jr., Open Court, 1995. A guide to evaluating arguments logically.
Informal Logic: A Handbook for Critical Argumentation, by Douglas N. Walton, Cambridge University Press, 1989
Thinking from A to Z, by Nigel Warburton, Rutledge, 2000. The dictionary of faulty reasoning.
Constructing a Logical Argument-a great introduction
Links for "Real-World Reasoning" by Peter Suber-Earlham College
Informal Fallacies from Longview Community College
The Atheism Web: Logic & Fallacies
Propaganda Analysis: Home Page
A List Of Fallacious Arguments
Approaches to Critical Thinking by Dr. Charles Ess - Drury College includes pages on:
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Written by Jim Norton
Visit my anti-environmental myths home page.
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