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FALLACIES

WRD104: Composition & Rhetoric

II

Winter 2014

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APPEALS TO THE MIND

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APPEALS TO AUTHORITY

Definition Example

Claiming something is

true because an

expert says it is

Using evidence from

an unnamed expert

or group to claim

something is true

They say once youget a cat, youll love

them for life!

Hundreds ofprestigious doctors

agree ADHD is amade-up disorder.

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APPEAL TO COMMON PRACTICE

Definition Example

Something is true

because it is

commonly practiced.

Social media must

be good, because

everyone uses it.

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APPEAL TO TRADITION

Definition Example

Claiming

something is truebecause it has

always been that

way.

Women have

traditionallyplayed the

homemaker,

therefore that is

their rightful placein a family

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APPEAL TO POPULAR BELIEF

Definition Example Claiming something is true

because the majority of

people believe it.

Justin Beiber must be a

talented musician because

his albums are always top

sellers.

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APPEALS TO EMOTIONS

Pityattempting to induce pity to sway opponents (see Prezi)

SpiteDismissing a claim by appealing to personal bias against

the opposition

FearAn argument made by increasing fear and prejudice

towards the opposition

NatureMaking your claim seem more true by drawingcomparisons to what is natural

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MANIPULATING CONTENT

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BEGGING THE QUESTION

Definition: Example:

Making a claim while leaving

out one or more major

contributing factors that may

affect the conclusion

Labeling food with food

warnings will encourage

people to eat healthier

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RED HERRING (SEE PREZI)

Definition: Example:

Introducing

irrelevant material to

the argument todistract and lead

towards a different

conclusion.

The senator doesnt

need to account for

irregularities in hisexpense account.

After all, there are

other senators who

have done worse

things

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SLIPPERY SLOPE (SEE PREZI)

Definition: Example:

Assuming a relatively small

first step will inevitably lead

to a chain of related,

negative events.

If we allow same sex

marriage, people will

eventually want to marry

animals or inanimate

objects.

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FAULTY DEDUCTIONS

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ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE

Definition: Example:

Discounting Evidence arrived

at by systematic search or

testing in favor of a few first

hand stories.

Its okay to smoke my

grandfather did for 70 years,

and lived to be 85!

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COMPOSITION/DIVISION

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HASTY GENERALIZATION (SEE

PREZI)

Definition: Example:

Drawing a conclusion from a

tiny sample.

The guys cologne on the

train smelled awful. All

cologne is awful!

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SWEEPING GENERALIZATION

Definition: Example:

Applying a general rule too

broadly.

A lot of teenagers went to

the Justin Beiber concert the

other day. All teenagers must

love Justin Beiber.

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ON THE ATTACK

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AD HOMINEM

Definition: Example:

Bypassing the argument by

launching an irrelevant attack

on the person, not the claim.

Of course she shouldnt be

reelected to office, she

acknowledged she hate

Justin Beiber!

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STRAW MAN

Definition: Example:

Creating a distorted

or simplified version

of the oppositionsstance, and arguing

against that.

You say Israel

should stop building

settlements on theWest Bank? So

youre saying Israel

doesnt have the

right to be a nation?

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CAUSE & EFFECT

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POST HOC ERGO PROPTER HOC

Defintion: Example:

Claiming that because one

event followed another, it is

also caused by it.

Since Obama was elected,

more people than ever are

unemployed. Obama is bad

for the economy

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CAUSAL FALLACY

Definition: Example:

Claiming two events

that occur together

must have a cause-and-effect

relationship.

Rap music is

violent, and teens

listen to rap music.Therefore, rap music

must cause teens to

be violent.

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AFFIRMING THE CONSEQUENT

Definition: Example:

Assuming theres

only one explanation

for the observationsyoure making.

A lot of people who

use social media

also have shortattention spans.

Social media must

effect attention

span.

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CIRCULAR LOGIC

Definition: Example:

A conclusion is

drawn from a

premise based onthe conclusion.

Stripping privacy

rights only matters to

those withsomething to hide.

You must have

something to hide if

you oppose privacy

protection