Logical Fallacies

• Fallacies are common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of your argument.
• False Dilemma

  This occurs when an arguer presents an argument as one of only two options despite the presence of multiple possibilities.
• Appeal to Ignorance

  Argumentum ad ignorantiam. This occurs when something is instantly concluded to be true just because it is not proven to be false, and vice versa.
• Slippery Slope

  This occurs when a series of increasingly superficial and unacceptable consequences is drawn.
• Complex Question

  This occurs when two or more points are rolled into one and the reader is expected to either accept or reject both at the same time,  when one point may be satisfactory while the other is not.
• Appeal to Force

  Argumentum ad baculum. This occurs when a threat, instead of reasoning, is used to argue.
• Appeal to Pity

  Argumentum ad misericodiam. This occurs when the element of pity is used instead of logical reasoning.
• Bandwagon

  Argumentum ad populum. This occurs when an argument is considered to be valid because it is what the majority thinks.
• Inconsistency

  Ad Hominem Tu Quoque. This occurs when arguments contradict one another.
• Attacking the Person

  This occurs when someone tries to refute an argument by attacking the character of a person instead of attacking the ideas of the argument.
• Appeal to Authority

  Argumentum ad verecundiam. This occurs when the argument quotes an expert who is not qualified in the particular subject matter.
• Anonymous Authority

  This occurs when the authority in question is not mentioned or named.
• Hasty Generalization

  This occurs when a sample is not significant or enough to support a generalization about a population.
• False Analogy

  This occurs when a writer assumes that two concepts that are similar in some ways are also similar in other ways.
• Accident

  This occurs when a general rule is applied to a situation, even when it should be an exception.
• Post Hoc

  This occurs when the arguer claims that since event A happened before event B, A is the cause of B.
• Wrong Direction

  This occurs when the direction between cause and effect is reversed.
• Irrelevant Conclusion

  Ignoratio elenchi. This occurs when an argument which is supposed to prove something concludes something else instead.