Informal Fallacies

Slippery slope or hasty generalization

A vote against us is a vote against growth and prosperity.

Weak analogy

an argument by analogy, in which the 2 things that are being compared aren't really alike in the relevant respects - guns are like hammers, they're both tools with metal parts that could be used to kill someone. And yet it would be ridiculous to restrict the purchase of hammers- so restrictions on purchasing guns are equally ridiculous. - taking a parenting class is as silly as reading a book to learn how to swim. You can only learn by doing. - Banning soda from school is like taking candy from a child. All children like candy and who would hurt a child?

Hasty generalization

making assumptions about a whole group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate (usually bc it is atypical or too small); stereotypes about people - I've known one salesman and he was a terrible person. Thus, all salespeople are terrible people. - My roommate said her philosophy class was hard, and the one i'm in is hard, too. All philosophy classes must be hard. - Boys are more outspoken than girls. - The British like to keep a stiff upper lip.

Equivocation

sliding between 2+ different meanings of a word or phrase important to the argument - "giving money to charity is the right thing to do. So charities have a right to our money."

False Dichotomy

the arguer presents the situation as if like there are only 2 choices. The arguer then eliminates one of the choices so it seems we are left with only 1 option, which the arguer wanted us to pick in the first place, when in fact there are also other options Ex: "DGH" is in bad shape. Either we tear it down and put up a new building, or we continue to risk student's safety. Obviously we shouldn't risk anyone's safety, so we must tear down the building."

Appeal to ignorance

there's no conclusive evidence on the issue at hand. Therefore, you should accept my conclusion. - "People have been trying for centuries to prove that God exists, but no one has yet been able to prove it. Therefore, God doesn't exist." - It can't be proven that there are any psychological differences between the sexes. Therefore men and women are equal psychologically

Appeal to authority

trying to convince by mentioning famous persons or appealing to a supposed authority who isn't much of an expert - Smoking is a stupid thing to do. That's what the Surgeon General says. - We should abolish the death penalty. Many respected people, such as actor _ have publicly stated their opposition to it

Ad hominem

(against the person) focuses people rather than on arguments or evidence; "You shouldn't believe X's argument because X is either a bad person (ad hominem) or a hypocrite (tu quoque)" - attack the opponent instead of the opponent's argument - "Andrea Dworkin has written several books arguing that pornography harms women. But Dworkin is just ugly and bitter, so why should we listen to her?"

Ad populum

(to the people) the arguer takes advantage of the desire of people to be liked and to fit in; the bandwagon fallacy- try to convince the audience to do or believe something because everyone else (supposedly) does - gay marriages are just immoral. 70% of americans think so

Post hoc (false cause)

- meaning "after this, therefore because of this." - Definition: assuming that because B comes after A, A caused B - Mistake: assumes that correlation is the same as causation - President Jones raised taxes and then the rate of violent crimes went up. Jones is responsible for the rise in crime.

Slippery slope

- the arguer claims that a sort of chain reaction, usually ending in some dire consequence, will take place, but there's really not enough evidence for that assumption - if we allow one developer to build a hotel on the lake, this place will look like Disneyland or las vegas in no time.

Either/or thinking or [false dilemma]

Either you're for us or against us. Either you support building the new highway or not.

Appeal to pity

I know the exam is graded based on performance, but you should give me an A. My cat has been sick, my car is broken, and I've had a cold, so it was really hard for me to study.

Cause-Effect error

Nothing went right today, so of course, I didn't get a raise.

Straw Man

a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while actually refuting an argument that was not advanced by that opponent - As for your claim that students should study the great works of Western culture, how many students do you think are going to spend their entire college careers learning Greek, Latin, French, German, and Italian so they can read these works in the original?

Begging the Question (circular reasoning)

a statement or claim is assumed to be true without evidence other than the statement or claim itself - "active euthanasia is morally acceptable. It is a decent, ethical thing to help another human being escape suffering through death" - the technology program at our school is top-notch because it's the best. - all people have a right to political freedom, for liberty is the universal right of mankind.