Logical Fallacies

False Analogy

"Choosing not to do homework is like choosing not to brush your teeth: The long-term consequences outweigh the short-term benefits." "People who cannot go without their coffee every morning are no better than alcoholics."

Hasty Generalization

"I have several who're friends and everyone of them loves country music. That means that every white person loves country music." "Everyone in Alabama marries their cousins."

Non Sequitur

"I love tomatoes, so I'm going to learn to speak Mandarin Chinese." "I bought new shoes, so I am going to fly on a plane."

Slippery Slope

"If you don't expose your child to germs, he will never get sick and therefore never build up his immune system to fight illness. He will grow up to be a sickly adult." "If you don't bring a pen to class, you will be unable to write notes, then you will fail at life and die."

Circular Reasoning/Begging the Question

"Married people should stay together no matter what. Even though we fight every dat and i have hit you twice, we are indeed married and should therefore stay together." "Bigfoot isn't real because there is no proof of his existence."

Appeal to Doubtful Authority

"Michael Jordan wears a hands underwear so you should too." "Taylor Swift drinks Diet Coke so you should drink it too."

Tu Quoque

"My PE teacher is overweight, so I will not follow his advice to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly." "A political candidate's speech about the dangers of drug use is attacked because there is record of him using drugs while in college."

Ad Hominem

"My opponent should not be elected mayor because he had an affair five years ago." "Bill Clinton shouldn't be president because he had an affair with his secretary."

Straw-Man Argument

"Parent: You need to clean out your backpack k. Child: You know I'm ADD! Why can't you just accept me as I am?" "Caroline says that she thinks her friends should not be so rude to the new girl. Jenna says that she cannot believe that Caroline is choosing to be better friends with the new girl than the girls who have always known her."

Misleading Statistics

"The principal should hire this teacher. His test scores improved 100% in just one year." "I saw a cockroach in the bathroom which means our whole school infested with cockroaches."

False Dilemma

"We either have to provide more jobs or everyone is in poverty." "Either I ace this test or I fail at life."

Post hoc, ergo propter hoc

"When I study for my tests, I fail then. When I don't study for my tests, I pass." "I sneezed at the same time the power went off. My sneeze did something to make the power go off."