Logical Fallacies (Team Tired)
Red Herring Example
"We should have stricter gun laws." "There is already a bill being passed in Congress about smoking."
Post Hoc
Since event A occurred before event B, then event A must have caused event B. Example: Gun related deaths in Connecticut fell by forty percent because a law was passed requiring a purchasing license before a citizen could buy a handgun.
Appeal to Emotion (Definition)
The use of emotions in place of reason or logic to win or manipulate an argument by exploiting their opponent's feelings.
Ad Hominem
This fallacy transpires when instead of addressing one's argument, a person in their defense will irrelevantly attack that person's position or some aspect of them.
logical fallacy
An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid
Stacking the Deck Definition
Any evidence that supports an argument is ignored or denied.
Cherry Picking
Cherry picking, also known as the fallacy of incomplete evidence is the act of only using specific sources that support your arguments position, while ignoring other sources that go against your arguments position. The stronger the evidence withheld, the worse the logical fallacy is. Example- When writing his resume, Greg included that he was promoted twice at his last job, but did not include the fact that he got fired because he failed a drug test.
No True Scotsman (An Appeal to Purity)
Definition- Basing an argument solely on one side rather than addressing any of the counterarguments. This logical fallacy dismisses any criticism towards the argument. Example- In an argument for gun rights, one could claim that a young child could easily get ahold of a gun that is on a shelf. To refute this, one would argue that "no responsible gun owner" would leave the gun in a place of easy access. This argument does not address the issues regarding irresponsible gun owners.
Cherry Picking
Definition: The act of citing data that seems to confirm a particular position, while disregarding a significant portion of data that may contradict that position.
Either/Or (False Dilemma)
Example: Either we ban all guns, or thousands of innocent children will keep dying in school shootings.
Appeal to Emotion (Example)
Guns cause harm, mass shootings for example, so the government should ban guns to prevent these types of events from happening. Guns can be used to protect, so the government shouldn't ban guns, but instead make the requirements to own guns stricter.
Stacking the Deck Example
Someone who does not want gun restrictions would not address facts in their argument about countries who reduced their crime rates by passing stricter gun laws.
Appeal to Tradition (Example)
The Second Amendment was written into the Constitution over 200 years ago by our founding fathers. They knew what they were doing, and it has worked for us so far.
Circular Argument
This logical fallacy is when the writer starts with the argument they're trying to prove. They repeat themselves to try and gain "evidence" in their argument. By doing so the reader is more likely to believe them. Example: Because of recent school shootings, we need gun control. If we have gun control, there will be no shootings.
Guilt by Association
This occurs when someone connects one person to a group of bad people or to a bad person to discredit their argument. The idea that this person is guilty because of the association to bad people. Example: Four friends at Carter High School are caught trying to fire a gun at a deputy. One of the friends is identified as a gang member, while the other three friends are on the honor roll. These three students arguments about being on the honor roll will now become a non-factor in the argument against them because they are associated with a gang member.
Appeal to Tradition (Definition)
When a thesis is deemed to be true because it holds historical significance, or was once deemed true ("it has always been this way")
Nonsequitor
a statement or idea that fails to follow logically
Slippery Slope
A form of reasoning where allowing "A" to happen will eventually lead to "Z" happening. Therefore, "A" shouldn't be allowed. It's used to shift focus from the problem at hand to extreme hypotheticals. Example: If we allow everyone access to firearms, then everyone will purchase automatic weapons, and gun violence will explode.
Appeal to Ignorance
An argument for a conclusion based on a lack of evidence. One form claims that the information must be true because it has not been proven to be false, and vise versa. Example: People argue that reducing gun usage will cause a decrease in gun violence. Since there is no evidence proving against this argument, it must be true.
Red Herring Definition
An attempt to redirect the argument from the original issue by introducing an irrelevant topic that does not relate to the argument.
Appeal to Authority
Definition- Using what a figure of authority says or does to support an argument. Since a person in authority thinks something, it has to be correct. This logical fallacy uses a famous person within a serious argument. Example- To prove that we are entitled to own guns, one could argue that Ted Cruz stated, "Gun rights are the people's 'God-Given rights.'" Based on Cruz's statement, the right to bear arms is given to us from the Bible. Lili Reinhart agrees that gun laws need to be stricter. She believes gun laws should change; therefore, we need stricter laws on the basis of gun violence.
Genetic Fallacy
Definition: A type of logical fallacy that is based on one's history or origin instead of its actual meaning or context. This results in a change of the esteem (positive or negative) of the original meaning or context. Example: The right to bear arms was put in the Bill of Rights in 1791.
Hasty Generalization (overgeneralization, lonely fact fallacy, faulty generalization)
Definition: Drawing a conclusion based on insufficient evidence, or a small sample size, rather than evaluating the entire situation.
Straw man
Definition: Misrepresenting an opponent's position to make it easier to argue against their point. Examples: Original statement: Guns should have regulations when it comes to owning one to reduce gun violence. Straw man statement: My opponent wants to stop people from having the right to bear arms at all.
Either/Or (False Dilemma)
Definition: This fallacy occurs when a writer or speaker builds their argument based on the assumption that there is only two options or outcomes, or the writer/speaker builds their argument to make it appear that there is only two options.
moving the goalposts (raising the bar)
Definition: When a party answers the point brought up by the opposing party, but instead of addressing it, they ask for entirely different evidence. Example: "I don't believe guns are the problem, show me evidence that they are." "In 2017, 39,773 people died from gun related injuries in the United States." "Show me how many people who committed crimes with guns are mentally ill."
Only one problem
Definition: When a question or problem is put at a lower level because there is a "bigger" problem. Ex: "The bigger problem is mental health not gun control."
Hasty Generalization
Example: My Dad owns a gun, and he only uses it to shoot at a target range a few times a week. All gun owners practice their target skills a few times a week.
Cherry Picking
Example: The Mayor stated that stabbings were the leading cause of Floridian death's in the year 2017, but failed to mention that handguns were the second leading cause.
Argument Ad Populum (Bandwagon)
Latin for "argument to the people," it is a logical fallacy that claims that if an argument is common and widely believed then it must be true and valid. It is also referred to as a bandwagon, as the fallacy appeals that the opinion of the majority (bandwagon) is always correct. Example: Since so many students disagree with gun ownership because of school shootings, we obviously should ban guns entirely.
Ad Hominem
𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺: These shootings are getting out of hand, we should go to the protest next week to try and change the gun laws. What do you think? Daquan: 𝘉𝘰𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘴? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳.