Logical Fallacies: Examples

patriotic approach

"A true American would never argue that beer should be banned."

misleading statistic

"According to the Juvenile Detention Center, almost 90% of teenagers have smoked pot at least once in their lives."

appeal to biased authority

"According to the Senate, the U.S. government is doing a fantastic job."

appeal to improper authority

"Albert Einstein said that The Great Gatsby was a bad book, so that's obviously true.

irrelevant conclusion

"All children should have ample attention from their parents. Parents who work full-time cannot give ample attention to their children. Therefore, mothers should not work full-time."

snob approach

"All the best people are doing it."

faulty analogy

"Education is like a cake: a small amount tastes sweet, but eat too much and your teeth will rot out. Likewise, more than two years of education is bad for a student."

either/or fallacy

"Either we eat the chicken, or the chicken eats us."

bandwagon approach

"Everyone is doing it, therefore it's the right thing to do."

false cause (post hoc, ergo propter hoc)

"Everyone who goes to school eventually ends up dead. Therefore, school kills people."

circular reasoning

"God exists because the Bible says so, and you can believe the Bible because it's the word of God."

complex question

"Have you stopped doing drugs yet?"

argument from personal incredulity

"I don't understand logical fallacies, so all of them are wrong."

ad misericordiam

"I failed this class last year, so you have to give me an A this year."

non sequitur

"I like apples, so we should nuke Russia."

red herring

"I might've killed the cat, but my sister killed the dog. So, she should be punished and I shouldn't."

ad populum

"I'm right because everyone agrees with me."

slippery slope

"If I do my homework, I'll be up all night. If I'm up all night, I won't be able to get any sleep. Studies have shown that people who don't get any sleep die after a few days. I'm not going to do my homework because I don't want to die."

appeal to force

"If you don't agree with me, I'll punch you in the face."

fallacy of accident

"It's discouraged to raise your voice in public. I should therefore not scream while I'm being stabbed."

ad hominem

"Lance Armstrong isn't a great athlete; he's a fraud, a cheat and a liar."

argument from a lack of evidence

"Megalodon is still around because there's no evidence that suggests that it's extinct."

hasty generalization

"My father smoked four packs of cigarettes a day since age fourteen and lived until age sixty-nine. Therefore, smoking really can't be that bad for you."

tu quoque

"My father told me not to drink alcoholic beverages, but since he drinks, I shouldn't listen to him."

straw man

"My opponent wants to extend health care to pedophiles, rapists, and murderers using your hard-earned tax dollars."

stacking the deck

"Shooting people is good because it helps the gun industry and can eliminate stupid people from society."

argument from the negative

"Since that body part is not the animal's head, it must be its butt."

argument from adverse consequences

"The doctor said my kitten's sick, but that can't be true because then it might die!"

genetic fallacy

"This man is wrong because he's Asian, and Asians are always wrong."

begging the question

"We should get rid of useless classes like AP Lang."

appeal to tradition

"What's wrong with telegraph machines? We've been using them for ages!"

circumstantial ad hominem

"You're a Republican, so you have to vote for this specific measure."

abusive ad hominem

"Your argument is false because it's something that only racists believe."