COMMON LOGICAL FALLACIES

Flawed Arguments
LOGICAL THINKING TEST

The following activity consists of

4 questions and tells whether you
are qualified to be a
"professional".
Question Number 1:
How do you put a giraffe into a
refrigerator?
The correct answer is:

Open the refrigerator,

put in the giraffe and
close the door.

This question tests

whether you tend to
do simple things in
an overly
complicated way.
Question Number 2
How do you put an elephant into a
refrigerator?
Wrong Answer: Open the
refrigerator, put in the
elephant and close the
refrigerator.

Correct Answer:
Open the refrigerator, take
out the giraffe, put in the
elephant and close the
door.

This tests your ability to

think through the
repercussions of your
actions.
Question Number 3

The Lion King is

hosting an animal
conference. All
the animals
attend except
one. Which
animal does not
attend?
Correct Answer:

The Elephant.

The Elephant is in the

refrigerator.

Remember?

This tests your

memory.
OK, even if you did not answer the first
three questions correctly, you still have one
more chance to show your abilities.
Question Number 4
There is a river you must cross. But
crocodiles inhabit it.

How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You swim across. Why?
All the Crocodiles are attending the Animal
Conference.

This tests whether you learn quickly from

your mistakes.
According to Andersen Consulting Worldwide,
around 90% of the professionals they tested got
all questions wrong.

But many preschoolers got several correct

answers.

Anderson Consulting says this conclusively

disproves the theory that most professionals
have the brains of a four year old.
13
PREMISE & CONCLUSION
Premise:
All girls have long eyelashes.

14
Cows has long eyelashes
Conclusion:
Therefore, all girls are cows

Is this statement logically right?

Falla
cies
IS THIS REASONING LOGICAL?

Premise:

15
“A cloud is 90% water.
A watermelon is 90% water.
A plane can fly through a cloud.
Conclusion:
Therefore, a plane can fly through
a watermelon”
There is logic in the premise
of the statements –

16
BUT the conclusion makes no
logical sense.

The reasoning is flawed

The conclusion is illogical
LOGICAL FALLACIES…
 From the Latin, “fallo” (I err)
 Flaws/errors in an argument
 Often subtle; found in media, church,
politics, schools, home, etc.
 Learning to recognize these will:
 Help you think critically;
 Strengthen your own arguments; and
 Help you critique other’s arguments
DANGERS OF STUDYING FALLACIES
 You might end up with the habit of only
looking at errors in other people’s arguments;
 You could become rigid in the way you apply
the knowledge of fallacies;
 You might dismiss everything else in an
argument simply because of a fallacy; and
 You might become frustrated with all
arguments.
EQUIVOCATION
 Errorof using the same word or phrase
with different meanings in the same
argument.

Ex: God is love;

Love is blind;
Therefore God is blind.
EQUIVOCATION

 Dilbert’s pointy-haired boss relies on equivocation by

employing two different meanings of the word
“exercise.”
AMPHIBOLY
 Lack of verbal clarity because of
misplaced antecedents.

Ex: 1. For sale: Table of an old lady with broken legs

2. My mother told your mother she has to go to
the Social Security System.
AMPHIBOLY
COMPOSITION
 States that what is true of the parts is
true of the whole.

Ex: 1. Each student in that class is a genius; hence the

class must be a genius.
2. Since all the players on the team are excellent,
the team as a whole must be excellent
DIVISION
 What is true of the whole is true of the
parts.

Ex: 1. The family of the Santiagos is very musical;

therefore Maria, the eldest daughter, must be musical.
2.
IRRELEVANT PREMISES
 Presenting premises that have nothing
to do with the conclusion.

Ex: Marga is the daughter of a tai pan;

She is a graduate of Assumption;
She was a star volleyball player in college;
She was a beauty queen in college;
Therefore, she must be promoted in her work.
HASTY GENERALIZATION
A generalization based on insufficient
or unrepresented evidence

Ex: 1. Deaths from drug overdoses in Manila have

doubled over the last three years. Therefore, more
Filipinos than ever are dying from drug abuse.

2. One student is arrested for drugs and

suddenly all students in that school are called drug
users.
ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE
 Individual
stories are substituted for a
large sample as support for
generalization.
HASTY CONCLUSION
 Drawinga firm conclusion without
enough evidence to support it.

Ex: “Your recurring headache is a proof that you

have a brain tumor.”
NON SEQUITUR (DOES NOT FOLLOW)
A conclusion that does not follow logically
from preceding statements. Or the train of
thought jumps the tracks at some point.
Ex:
1. Mary loves children, so she will make an excellent school
teacher. (This support alone does not follow or is Non-
Sequitor—If Mary is a murderer, or has a 50 IQ, she will not
make a good teacher no matter how much she loves kids.)
2. No one should grill their steaks. Cows don’t like smoke. (This
does not follow because it does not make sense. The cows are
dead. They are steaks.)
FALSE ANALOGY

 The assumption that because two things

are alike in some respects, they are
alike in others.
Ex:
 If teachers can use the phones and drink coffee in school,
students should be able to also!
 If adults can legally drink alcohol, teenagers should be
able to also!
 Education is like cake; a small amount tastes sweet, but eat
too much and your teeth will rot out. Likewise, more than
four years of college education is bad for a student.
NATURAL LAW FALLACY
A specific type of False Analogy that
reasons that what is true about nature
must also be true of humans.

Ex: “I believe that monogamy is the proper

relationship among humans since it is proven that
monogamous birds are part of nature.”
“EITHER… OR” FALLACY
 Thesuggestion that only two
alternatives exist when in fact there are
more.

Ex: “Either she comes to my party or she’s not my real

friend.”
FALSE CAUSE
(POST HOC, ERGO, PROPTER HOC)
 Theassumption that because one
event follows another, the first is the
cause of the second.

Ex: Every time I wear my blue sweater, it rains. OMG, MY

BLUE SWEATER CAUSES RAIN!!!
TU QUOQUE

 “You do it too”; “Look who’s talking!”

 Saying they do it too does not negate their
argument it is valid.
 Claiming a person’s argument is wrong or weak
because they do the behavior they are arguing
against.
Ex: Doctor says “Stop smoking or you will die. You
have bronchitis.
Patient says, “I don’t have to listen to you, you
smoke too!”
 CIRCULAR REASONING/ BEGGING THE
QUESTION/PETITIO PRINCIPII
 An argument in which the writer,
instead of applying evidence simply
restates the point in other language.
Ex: 1. God exists. How do you know? The Bible says so. Who
wrote the Bible? God.
2. Chicken nuggets are good. Why are they good?
Because they are tasty. Why are they tasty? Because they
are good!
CIRCULAR REASONING
APPEAL TO FALSE AUTHORITY
(AD AUCTORITATEM)
The person presenting the argument is
an authority, but not on the subject at
hand.
Two types:
Self Proof—”Because I said so”
Spokesperson—”Because famous person says so”

I have a degree in
Medicine and I am
here to tell you the
economy is about to
FAIL!
FALSE AUTHORITY:
 One should recognize the following instances of
appeals to false authority:
1. When the source cited is not a
genuine authority on the subject
under consideration.
2. When there is reason to
believe that the source
is biased.
When the accuracy of the source's
observations is questionable.

When the source cited (e.g. a media

source, reference work, or Internet
source) is known to be generally
unreliable.
When the source has not been cited
correctly or the cited claim has
been taken out of context.
When the source's claim conflicts
with expert consensus.
When the claim under consideration
cannot be resolved by expert
opinion.
When the claim is highly
improbable on its face.
TO FALSE AUTHORITY:
“Hi, I’m former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson.
After a tough night in the ring, my face needs some
tender loving care. Lather-X Sensitive Skin Shaving
Gel. You can’t get a smoother, closer shave.”

Why is this an appeal to false

authority?
– Source is not an authority
on skin care.
TRADITION (AD VERECUNDIAM)
 Occurs when a belief or action is
supported because it conforms to
tradition.

Ex: It is bad to take a bath on Good Friday because

tradition says so.
TO FEAR/FORCE
(AD BACULUM)
 Proving your argument through fear or
the threat of consequences instead of
using logical reasoning; scaring people in
order to prove your point.

Ex: 1. “If you do not believe in God, you will go to hell.”

2. “Global warming will kill us all so stop using
hairspray.”
3. “If you do not sit down, I will fail you.”
TO THE PERSON (AD HOMINEM)
 An attack on the person proposing an
argument rather than on the argument
itself.

Ex: “Why believe in her? She is just a prostitute’s

daughter!”
“Why are you talking about academic excellence?
You cannot even drive, silly sophomore!”
TO THE PEOPLE (AD POPULUM)
 Appealing to the biases/preferences of
the people.

Ex: A candidate before a Kapampangan crowd:

“Vote for me because I am a Kapampangan
myself!”
TO LOYALTY
 An appeal to emotion that argues that
an action should be taken based only on
the need to be loyal to someone or to a
group.

Ex: “Come on, if you don’t do it, you’ll let everyone

down”
TO JOY
 An appeal to emotion that argues that
something should be done only because
it will make one happier.

Ex: “Let’s go to the party instead of studying. Partying

is fun!”
TO PRIDE
 Oneshould accept a claim based only
on evidence that one has the
favorable characteristics needed to
understand the truth of the claim.

Ex: During Graduation Rites, when the batch’s two

summa cum laudes (twin brothers) are called, “Of
course the graduating twins are intelligent. I’m
their father!”
TO PITY (AD MISERICORDIAM)
 An appeal to accept the truth of
a conclusion out of pity for the arguer
or some third party. Either the arguer
(or someone else) is already an object
of pity, or they will become one if the
conclusion is not accepted.
Ex: If I don’t get at least a 3.0 in this course my GPA will
drop below 2.0. If that happens I’ll lose my scholarship
and have to quit school, so I ought to get a 3.0 in this
course.
TO SILENCE (AD SILENCIUM)
 Because nobody speaks of something or
because a fact is not in the book or
newspapers, the fact did not happen.

Ex: Because Jesus is not recorded as laughing, therefore

Jesus did not laugh.
TO ANTIQUITY (AD ANTIQUITATEM)
 Something is necessarily better
because it is old or worse because it is
new.

Ex: “They just don’t make things as well as they used

to…”
TO NOVELTY (AD NOVITATEM)
 Reasoning from
the idea that
something is
necessarily better
because it is new.
TO IGNORANCE (AD IGNORANTIAM):
 Thearguer asserts that a claim must be
true because no one has proven it false,
or conversely
 The arguer asserts that a claim must be
false because no one has proven it to be
true.
 APPEAL TO IGNORANCE (AD IGNORANTIAM)
• There must be intelligent life on other planets. No one has
proven that there isn’t.
• There isn’t any intelligent life on other planets. No one has
proven that there is.

Why is this an appeal to ignorance?

– Both claims suffer from the basic flaw that they assume that the
lack of evidence for (or against) the claim is good reason to
believe that the claim is false (or true).
 APPEAL TO IGNORANCE:
Exceptions:
 Sometimes the fact that a search hasn’t
found something is good evidence that the
thing isn’t there to be found (e.g., medical
trials).
 A careful search has been conducted, and
 It is likely that the search would have found something is there
had been anything there to be found.
 Specialrules require a claim to be rejected as
false unless a certain burden of proof is met.
 Innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
SNOB APPEAL
 One should accept an idea or product
based only on evidence that
prestigious people accept it.

Ex: Young student to a newcomer from the province:

“You should only wear branded clothes if you want
to be popular in school…”
CHRONOLOGICAL SNOBBERY (AD ANNIS)
 Appealing to the age of something as
proof or disproof of its truth.

Ex: Grandmother to her grandaughter: “Believe me,

your suitor will only fool you. In my eighty years in
this life, you can never trust men..”
TO MONEY (AD CRUMENAM)
 Contending that greater wealth
indicates greater good or truth, or
asserting that money is the standard
by which to judge the true or the
good.

Ex: “Professor, here’s Php 100 K. Please change my

failing grade to a grade of 3.5.”
TO ONE’S ADVANTAGE
 A request from someone in a position
of power to someone who is in a socially
subordinate position; the request is
specifically for the subordinate to
perform an act contrary to the
subordinate's wishes, such that the
subordinate is forced to commit the act
in order to satisfy a more significant
need.
ARGUMENT BY DISMISSAL
 Anidea is rejected without saying
why.

Ex: "If you don't like it, leave the country"

TO ENVY (AD INVIDIAM)
 Envy and jealousy tempt us to
exaggerate someone’s bad points. This
fallacy is committed when we find
fault with a person because of envy.

Ex: “Well, she may have a lot of money, but

she sure does not have manners.”
APPEAL TO ONE’S ADVANTAGE
Ex: 1. A rich man offers to pay the hospital bills for a
beautiful young girl's sick mother, provided that
the girl chooses to become his mistress.

2. A religious political leader offers a person a

job, provided that the person joins his religion and
accepts his beliefs.
 LOADED/COMPLEX QUESTION:
• This fallacy is committed when an arguer
asks a question that contains an
unwarranted assumption.

– Have you stopped beating your wife?

– Did you write this immoral trash?

This type of fallacy involves

presupposition.
HYPOTHESIS CONTRARY TO FACT:
 Arguing
from something that might
have happened, but didn't.

Ex: If Rizal were alive today, he would be on

the streets protesting against the DAP.
RED HERRING
 An argument that focuses on an
irrelevant issue to detract attention
from the real issue; literally a SMELLY
FISH.
 Youbasically say, “I cannot win this
argument. HERE IS AN AWFUL SMELLY
FISH TO DISTRACT YOU!

Ex: “Mom, I know I have several notices from the

Disciplinary Office but at least I am not doing drugs
like all those other students there!”
RED HERRING
SLIPPERY SLOPE
 Like a muddy hill, if we go down this slope
we will fall.
 Slippery slope arguments generally follow this pattern:
 The arguer claims that if a certain seemingly harmless
action, A, is permitted, A will lead to B, B will lead to C,
and so on to D.
 The arguer holds that D is a terrible thing and therefore
should not be permitted.
Note: In fact, there is no good reason to believe that A will
actually lead to D.
SLIPPERY SLOPE:
Ex:
 If we allow students to have ipods, pretty soon
they will have entire systems out in class
bumping bass all over the school.
 If we pass this health care bill, eventually the
government will take over the decision-making
from patients and doctors
 SLIPPERY SLOPE

 “Once marriage is no
longer confined to a man
 But society can take one step
and a woman, it is (legalizing same sex marriage)
impossible to exclude without taking any other steps
virtually any (legalizing polygamy, bestiality,
relationship between two or incest)
or more partners of  As an example, setting the legal
either sex--even non- age for marriage, without
parental consent, at age at 18
human ‘partners.’” hasn’t spawned a movement for
Timothy J. Daly, The legal marriage at age 15.
Slippery Slope of Same  As another example, being
Sex Marriage, Family allowed to marry a 1st cousin
Research Council didn’t produce a clamor to marry
brothers and sisters.
STRAW MAN
 The person attacks an argument which
is different from, and usually weaker
than, the opposition's best argument.
 Setting up a fake version of something or someone
that is easy for others to not like.

 People who think abortion should be banned have

no respect for the rights of women. They treat
them as nothing but baby-making machines.
That's wrong. Women must have the right to
choose.
HORSE LAUGH
 Responding to an argument with an
expression of derision instead of a
counterargument; laugh is
exaggerated and contemptuous.

 In a debate, “Oh please (with eyes rolling)….”

GENETIC FALLACY
 Arguing that an idea should be accepted
or rejected only because of its origin.

Ex: “This policy proposal should be rejected because it

comes from the political opposition.”
FALSE CONSOLATION
 Arguing that someone is not really
harmed because things could be
worse, or pointing out what one has to
be thankful for.

Ex: “It’s too bad you lost your job; at least you still
have your family around…”
MATHEMATICAL FALLACY
 Are
errors that occur in a
mathematical problem or argument

Ex: A man can climb ten trees in fifteen minutes.

How many trees can he climb in an hour? Forty.
GUILT BYASSOCIATION
 This occurs when someone links a
specific idea or practice with
something or someone negative in
order to infer guilt on another person.
 “Birds of the same feather flock
together…”

Ex: “Hitler was a vegetarian, therefore, I

don’t trust vegetarians.”
LAUDATORY PERSONALITY
 Reasoning that a person couldn’t do
something bad, or must have done
something good, because he/she has
good qualities or occupies a
prestigious position.

Ex: “I don’t believe Senator Estrada is guilty

of graft because I know him well. He is a
good man and responsible father. Besides,
he is an elected senator of the republic.”
REPREHENSIBLE PERSONALITY
 Reasoning that a person couldn’t do
something good, or must have done
something bad, because he/she has
negative qualities or occupies a
particular position.

Ex: “I believe that never in the life of Adolph

Hitler was he compassionate to his
neighbor.”
RHETORICAL FALLACIES
 Simply by using certain words to ‘frame’ an
issue, question, or position, you can sway
people one way or the other.
 Technical Note: Maybe these are not so much
‘fallacies’, as they don’t constitute any argument,
but simply ploys to persuade people.
 Examples:
 Yay and Boo words
 Exaggerating and Minimizing
 Proof Surrogates
 And many more!!!! Take my Methods of Reasoning
course in the spring!
EUPHEMISMS AND DYSPHEMISMS
 Are we fighting “terrorists” or are we helping
“freedom fighters”?
 Are you “pro-life” or “pro-choice”?

 Do you have a “rendez-vous in the back of a

limousine” or an “affair in the back of a Buick”?
 “Feminist” or “feminazzi”?

 Etc.
HYPERBOLE AND DOWNPLAYERS
 “That was the biggest … ever!!”
 “I was just trying to …”

 So, he got his “degree” from …, did he?”

 Etc.
PROOF SURROGATES
 “Obviously, …”
 “Clearly …”

 “As everyone knows, …”

 “Anyone with half a brain would agree that …”

 Etc.
AND THE ONE BIG ETHICAL FALLACY
 Ought from Is!
 “Well, that’s how we should behave, because
everyone behaves that way!”
 Subclasses:
 Naturalistic Fallacy: “It’s natural, so it’s good”
 Normalistic Fallacy: “It’s normal, so it’s good”
 Traditionalistic Fallacy: “It’s always been that way, so it’s
good”
 Circular reasoning

http://www.cafepress.com
 Either/Or

http://www.cafepress.com
CAN YOU NAME THIS FALLACY?
1) It is ridiculous to have Americans
spend thousands of dollars to rescue
those two whales trapped in the Arctic
ice. Why look at all the people
trapped in jobs they don’t like!

RED HERRING
CAN YOU NAME THIS FALLACY?
2) Plagiarism is deceitful because it is
dishonest.

BEGGING THE QUESTION

CAN YOU NAME THIS FALLACY?
3) Water fluoridation affects the brain.
Citywide, student’s test scores began
to drop five months after fluoridation
began.

POST HOC (false cause)

CAN YOU NAME THIS FALLACY?
4) I know three blondes who have
terrible tempers, and since Annabel is
blonde, I’ll bet she has a terrible
temper too.

HASTY GENERALIZATION
CAN YOU NAME THIS FALLACY?
5) Our present Court Justice was a
volleyball player while in college, so
how can you say that athletes are
dumb?

HASTY GENERALIZATION
CAN YOU NAME THIS FALLACY?
6) Why should we put people on trial
when we know they are guilty?

BEGGING THE QUESTION

CAN YOU NAME THIS FALLACY?
7) You should jump high twelve times
when the clock strikes twelve midnight
on New Year’s Day. This should make
you taller.

To TRADITION
CAN YOU NAME THIS FALLACY?
8) The meteorologist predicted the
wrong amount of rain for May.
Obviously meteorologists are
unreliable.

HASTY GENERALIZATION
CAN YOU NAME THIS FALLACY?
9) You know Jane Fonda’s exercise
videos must be worth the money. Look
at the great shape she’s in.

POST HOC (false cause)

CAN YOU NAME THIS FALLACY?
10) We have to stop the tuition increase!
The next thing you know, they'll be
charging us for the gardener
maintaining the school garden, the
chair we use in the classroom, the
water we drink at the fountain.
Before you know it, they’ll be
charging Php 150,000 a term!

SLIPPERY SLOPE
CAN YOU NAME THIS FALLACY?
11) I'm positive that my work will meet
your requirements. I really need the
job since my grandmother is sick.

APPEAL TO PITY
CAN YOU NAME THE FALLACY?

12. A prosecutor asks the judge to not admit

the testimony of a the witness because the
witness is the son of a laundrywoman.

To the Man (Ad Hominem)

CAN YOU NAME THE FALLACY?
13. Employees are like nails. Just as nails
must be hit in the head in order to make
them work, so must employees.

 False Analogy
 False Authority
CAN YOU NAME THE FALLACY?
14. Bill and Jane are arguing about abortion.
Bill: "I believe that abortion is morally
acceptable. After all, a woman should have
a right to her own body."
Jane: "I disagree completely. Dr. Johan Barnes
says that abortion is always morally
wrong, regardless of the situation. He has
to be right, after all, he is a
respected expert in his field.“
Bill: "I've never heard of Dr. Barnes. Who is he?"
Jane: "He's the guy that won the Nobel Prize in
physics for his work on cold fusion."
Bill: "I see. Does he have any expertise in
morality or ethics?"
Jane: "I don't know. But he's a world famous
expert, so I believe him."
CAN YOU NAME THE FALLACY?

15. I can't believe you are against the RH

Law. Either you didn't understand the
proposition, or you just don't care about
those less fortunate Filipinos than yourself!

 False Dilemma
CAN YOU NAME THE FALLACY?
16. "You
know, Professor Dizon, I really need
to get an A in this class. I'd like to stop by
during your office hours later to discuss
my grade. I'll be in your building
anyways, visiting my father. He's your
dean, by the way. I'll see you later.”

 Appeal to Fear (Ad Baculum)

WHO CAN WRITE THE WORST AD?
 In groups, decide on a product. This could be
something we all know about, something
made up, or even a person (think of
political ads or “changed” celebrities)
 Must tell us: What the product is. Why we
should all have/believe this product.
 Create a visual ad. (Magazine spread?
Billboard?)
 Create a small speech for this product. This
speech must be LOADED with fallacies. At
least 3
 You will present your products to the class.
 Be creative and have fun!