Informal fallacies are instances of murky reasoning that can cloud an argument and lead to unsound conclusions. Because they can crop up unintentionally in anyone's writing, and because advertisers and hucksters often use them intentionally to deceive, it is a good idea to learn to recognize the more common fallacies.
1. Post Hoc, Propter Hoc (After This, Therefore Because of This)
This fallacy involves mistaking sequence for cause. Just Because one event happens before another event doesn't mean the first even caused the second. The connection may be coincidental, or some unknown third even may have caused both of these events.
Example : For years I suffered from agonizing abdominal itching. Then I tried Smith's pills. Almost overnight my abdominal itching ceased. Smith's pills work wonders.
2. Hasty Generalization
Closely related to the post hoc fallacy is the hasty generalization, which refers to claims based on insufficient or unrepresentative data.
Example: The food stamp program supports mostly freeloaders. Let me tell you about my worthless neighbour.
3. False Analogy
Analogical arguments are tricky because they are, almost always significant differences between the two things being compared. If two things differ greatly, the analogy can mislead rather than clarify.
Example: You can't force a kid to become a musician any more than you can force a tulip to become a rose.
4. Either-or reasoning
This fallacy occurs when a complex, multisided issue is reduced to two positions without acknowledging the possibility of other alternatives.
Example: Either you are pro-choice on abortion or you are against the advancement of women in our culture.
5. Ad Hominem ("Against the Person")
When people can't find fault with an argument, they sometimes attack the arguer, substituting irrelevant assertions about that person's character for an analysis of the argument itself.
Example: Don't pay attention to Fulke's views on sexual harassment in the workplace. I just learned he subscribes to Playboy.
6. Appeals to False Authority and Bandwagon Appeals
These fallacies offer as support the fact that a famous person or "many people" already support it. Unless the supporters are themselves authorities in the field, their support is irrelevant.
Example: Buy Freeble oil because Joe Quarterback always uses it in his fleet of cars.
Example: How can abortion be wrong if millions of people support a woman's right to choose?
7. Non Sequitur ("It Does Not Follow")
This fallacy occurs when there is no evident connection between a claim and its reason. Sometimes a non sequitur can be repaired by filling in gaps in the reasoning; at other times, the reasoning is simply fallacious.
Example: I don't deserve a B for this course because I am a straight A student.
8. Circular Reasoning
This fallacy occurs when you state your claim and then usually after rewording it, you state it again as your reason.
Example: Marijuana is injurious to your health because it harms your body.
9. Red Herring
This fallacy refers to the practice of raising an unrelated or irrelevant point deliberately to throw an audience off track. Politicians often employ this fallacy when they field questions from the public or press.
Example: You raise a good question about my support for sending ground troops to Afghanistan. Let me tell you about my admiration for the bravery of our soldiers.
10. Slippery Slope
The slippery slope fallacy is based on the fear that one step in a direction we don't like inevitably leads to the next with no stopping place.
Example: We don't dare send weapons to these guerrillas. If we do, we will next send in military advisers, then a Special Forces battalion, and then large numbers of troops. Finally, we will be in all-out war.
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Adapted from The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing by Ramage, Bean and Johnson
One of the more interesting GP exercises I was made to do of late.
We probably hear these fallacies all the time. Some of us can identify it when it is used on us. But for the majority we probably slip into the mushy good feel of a good speaker with flowery language and flowing words.
Anyhow, it is good to recognised these fallacies. Somehow I knowing this makes me feel like a more well-learned man.
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