Hasty Generalization
- when a person draws a conclusion about a population based on a sample that’s not large enough
- Sam rides her bike. A car passes from NY yelling, she assumes all NY drivers are jerks
False/Weak Analogy
- a comparison between two things to link them together in an argument, even though the connection isn’t strong enough
- the government insisting that I pay taxes is like a mugger putting a gun to my head and holding me hostage until I give my wallet
False Cause
- cites sequential events as evidence that the first caused the second to happen
- Every day I eat cereal. One day I ate a muffin and there was an earthquake, I never eat muffins anymore
Post Hoc Ergo Proper Hoc
- after this, therefore because of this
- A occurs before B. Therefore A is the cause of B
- My boyfriend gave me neon laces for my race. I won my next 3 races
Argumentum Ad Hominem
- attacks a persons traits to undermine the argument
- we shouldn’t believe a woman who is pregnant and unmarrieds
strawman Fallacy
- you misinterpret someone’s argument to make it easier to attack
- senator Jones says to stop funding submarines. I disagree bc that’ll leave us defenseless
Loaded Question
- you asked a question that had a presumption built into it so that it couldn’t be answered without appearing guilty
- Grace & Helen both like Brad. Grace asks Helen if she has a drug problem in front of him
Equivocation
- when a key term is used in an ambiguous way
- Noisy kids are a real headache. 2 aspirins will make the ache go away. Therefore aspirin makes the kids go
Slippery Slope
- If A happens, then Z will eventually happen too. Therefore A shouldn’t happen
- If we allow same sex marriage, then people will end up marrying their parents, monkey’s etc;
Appeal to Authority
-if authority thinks it’s true, it must be true
False Dilemna
- either x or y is true. y is false, so therefore x is true
- either you can’t afford the stereo, or you’ll have to go without music for a while
Begging the Question
- you presented a circular argument in which the conclusion was the premise
- zorbo the great is great bc the book says he’s great
Human fallacies
Hasty generalization
False analogy
False cause
-post box ergo prophet hoc
Red herring
Argumentum ad hominem
Straw man fallacy
Rhetorical fallacies
Loaded question
Equivocation
Misc fallacies
-slippery slope fallacy
Appeal to authority
False dilemma
Begging the question
