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For specic popular misconceptions, see List of common correctness is not guaranteed by the behavior of those log-
misconceptions. ical connectives, and hence, which are not logically guar-
anteed to yield true conclusions.
A fallacy is an incorrect argument in logic and rhetoric Types of Propositional fallacies:
which undermines an arguments logical validity or more
generally an arguments logical soundness. Fallacies are Arming a disjunct concluded that one disjunct of
either formal fallacies or informal fallacies. a logical disjunction must be false because the other
disjunct is true; A or B; A, therefore not B.[8]
A propositional fallacy is an error in logic that concerns Fallacy of four terms (quaternio terminorum) a cat-
compound propositions. For a compound proposition to egorical syllogism that has four terms.[10]
be true, the truth values of its constituent parts must sat-
isfy the relevant logical connectives that occur in it (most Illicit major a categorical syllogism that is invalid
commonly: <and>, <or>, <not>, <only if>, <if and only because its major term is not distributed in the major
if>). The following fallacies involve inferences whose premise but distributed in the conclusion.[9]
1
2 2 INFORMAL FALLACIES
Illicit minor a categorical syllogism that is invalid Shifting the burden of proof (see onus probandi)
because its minor term is not distributed in the minor I need not prove my claim, you must prove it is
premise but distributed in the conclusion.[9] false.
Negative conclusion from armative premises (il- Circular reasoning (circulus in demonstrando)
licit armative) when a categorical syllogism has when the reasoner begins with what he or she is try-
a negative conclusion but armative premises. [9] ing to end up with; sometimes called assuming the
conclusion.
Fallacy of the undistributed middle the middle
term in a categorical syllogism is not distributed.[11] Circular cause and consequence where the conse-
quence of the phenomenon is claimed to be its root
cause.
2 Informal fallacies
Continuum fallacy (fallacy of the beard, line-
drawing fallacy, sorites fallacy, fallacy of the heap,
Main article: Informal fallacy
bald man fallacy) improperly rejecting a claim for
being imprecise.[26]
Informal fallacies arguments that are fallacious for rea-
sons other than structural (formal) aws and usually re- Correlative-based fallacies
quire examination of the arguments content.[12]
Correlation proves causation (post hoc ergo
propter hoc) a faulty assumption that corre-
Appeal to the stone (argumentum ad lapidem) dis-
lation between two variables implies that one
missing a claim as absurd without demonstrating
causes the other.[27]
proof for its absurdity.[13]
Suppressed correlative where a correlative
Argument from ignorance (appeal to ignorance, ar- is redened so that one alternative is made
gumentum ad ignorantiam) assuming that a claim impossible.[28]
is true because it has not been or cannot be proven
false, or vice versa.[14] Equivocation the misleading use of a term with
more than one meaning (by glossing over which
Argument from (personal) incredulity (divine fal- meaning is intended at a particular time).[29]
lacy, appeal to common sense) I cannot imag-
ine how this could be true, therefore it must be Ambiguous middle term a common ambi-
false.[15][16] guity in syllogisms in which the middle term is
equivocated.[30]
Argument from repetition (argumentum ad inni-
tum) signies that it has been discussed extensively Denitional retreat changing the meaning of
until nobody cares to discuss it anymore;[17][18] a word to deal with an objection raised against
sometimes confused with proof by assertion the original wording.[31]
Argument from silence (argumentum ex silentio) Ecological fallacy inferences about the nature of
where the conclusion is based on the absence of ev- specic individuals are based solely upon aggregate
idence, rather than the existence of evidence.[19][20] statistics collected for the group to which those in-
dividuals belong.[32]
Argument to moderation (false compromise, middle
ground, fallacy of the mean, argumentum ad temper- Etymological fallacy which reasons that the origi-
antiam) assuming that the compromise between nal or historical meaning of a word or phrase is nec-
two positions is always correct.[21] essarily similar to its actual present-day usage.[33]
Argumentum ad hominem the evasion of the ac- Fallacy of accent a specic type of ambiguity that
tual topic by directing an attack at your opponent. arises when the meaning of a sentence is changed
ergo decedo where a critics perceived al- by placing an unusual prosodic stress, or when, in
iation is seen as the underlying reason for the a written passage, its left unclear which word the
criticism and the critic is asked to stay away emphasis was supposed to fall on.
from the issue altogether.
Fallacy of composition assuming that something
Argumentum verbosium See Proof by verbosity, true of part of a whole must also be true of the
below. whole.[34]
Begging the question (petitio principii) providing Fallacy of division assuming that something true
what is essentially the conclusion of the argument as of a thing must also be true of all or some of its
a premise.[22][23][24][25] parts.[35]
3
False attribution an advocate appeals to an irrele- concept. Explaining thought as something produced
vant, unqualied, unidentied, biased or fabricated by a little thinker, a sort of homunculus inside the
source in support of an argument. head, merely explains it as another kind of thinking
(as dierent but the same).[41]
Fallacy of quoting out of context (contextomy)
refers to the selective excerpting of words Ination of conict The experts of a eld of knowl-
from their original context in a way that dis- edge disagree on a certain point, so the scholars must
torts the sources intended meaning.[36] know nothing, and therefore the legitimacy of their
entire eld is put to question.[42]
False authority (single authority) using an expert of
dubious credentials or using only one opinion to sell If-by-whiskey an argument that supports both
a product or idea. Related to the appeal to authority sides of an issue by using terms that are selectively
fallacy. emotionally sensitive.
False dilemma (false dichotomy, fallacy of bifurca- Incomplete comparison in which insucient in-
tion, black-or-white fallacy) two alternative state- formation is provided to make a complete compari-
ments are held to be the only possible options, when son.
in reality there are more.[37]
Inconsistent comparison where dierent methods
False equivalence describing a situation of logical of comparison are used, leaving one with a false im-
and apparent equivalence, when in fact there is none. pression of the whole comparison.
Fallacy of many questions (complex question, fal- Intentionality fallacy the insistence that the ulti-
lacy of presupposition, loaded question, plurium in- mate meaning of an expression must be consistent
terrogationum) someone asks a question that pre- with the intention of the person from whom the
supposes something that has not been proven or ac- communication originated (e.g. a work of ction
cepted by all the people involved. This fallacy is that is widely received as a blatant allegory must
often used rhetorically, so that the question lim- necessarily not be regarded as such if the author in-
its direct replies to those that serve the questioners tended it not to be so.)[43]
agenda.
Ignoratio elenchi (irrelevant conclusion, missing the
Fallacy of the single cause (causal point) an argument that may in itself be valid, but
oversimplication[38] ) it is assumed that there is does not address the issue in question.[44]
one, simple cause of an outcome when in reality it
may have been caused by a number of only jointly Kettle logic using multiple, jointly inconsistent ar-
sucient causes. guments to defend a position.
Furtive fallacy outcomes are asserted to have been Ludic fallacy the belief that the outcomes of non-
caused by the malfeasance of decision makers. regulated random occurrences can be encapsulated
by a statistic; a failure to take into account unknown
Gamblers fallacy the incorrect belief that sepa-
unknowns in determining the probability of events
rate, independent events can aect the likelihood of
taking place.[45]
another random event. If a fair coin lands on heads
10 times in a row, the belief that it is due to the Moral high ground fallacy in which one assumes
number of times it had previously landed on tails is a "holier-than-thou" attitude in an attempt to make
incorrect.[39] oneself look good to win an argument.
Historians fallacy occurs when one assumes that Moralistic fallacy inferring factual conclusions
decision makers of the past viewed events from from purely evaluative premises in violation of fact
the same perspective and having the same informa- value distinction. For instance, inferring is from
tion as those subsequently analyzing the decision.[40] ought is an instance of moralistic fallacy. Moralistic
(Not to be confused with presentism, which is a fallacy is the inverse of naturalistic fallacy dened
mode of historical analysis in which present-day below.
ideas, such as moral standards, are projected into
the past.) Moving the goalposts (raising the bar) argument in
which evidence presented in response to a specic
Homunculus fallacy where a middle-man is used claim is dismissed and some other (often greater)
for explanation, this sometimes leads to regressive evidence is demanded.
middle-men. Explains without actually explaining
the real nature of a function or a process. Instead, Naturalistic fallacy inferring evaluative conclu-
it explains the concept in terms of the concept it- sions from purely factual premises[46] in violation
self, without rst dening or explaining the original of factvalue distinction. For instance, inferring
4 2 INFORMAL FALLACIES
ought from is (sometimes referred to as the is-ought Red herring a speaker attempts to distract an au-
fallacy) is an instance of naturalistic fallacy. Also dience by deviating from the topic at hand by intro-
naturalistic fallacy in a stricter sense as dened in ducing a separate argument the speaker believes is
the section Conditional or questionable fallacies easier to speak to.[50]
below is an instance of naturalistic fallacy. Natural-
Referential fallacy[51] assuming all words refer to
istic fallacy is the inverse of moralistic fallacy.
existing things and that the meaning of words reside
Naturalistic fallacy[47] (anti-naturalistic fallacy[48] ) within the things they refer to, as opposed to words
inferring impossibility to infer any instance of ought possibly referring to no real object or that the mean-
from is from the general invalidity of is-ought fallacy ing of words often comes from how we use them.
mentioned above. For instance, is P P does im- Regression fallacy ascribes cause where none ex-
ply ought P P for any proposition P , although ists. The aw is failing to account for natural uctu-
the naturalistic fallacy would falsely declare such an ations. It is frequently a special kind of the post hoc
inference invalid. Naturalistic fallacy is an instance fallacy.
of argument from fallacy.
Reication (concretism, hypostatization, or the fal-
Nirvana fallacy (perfect solution fallacy) when so- lacy of misplaced concreteness) a fallacy of ambi-
lutions to problems are rejected because they are not guity, when an abstraction (abstract belief or hypo-
perfect. thetical construct) is treated as if it were a concrete,
real event or physical entity. In other words, it is the
Onus probandi from Latin onus probandi in- error of treating as a real thing something that is
cumbit ei qui dicit, non ei qui negat the burden of not a real thing, but merely an idea.
proof is on the person who makes the claim, not on
the person who denies (or questions the claim). It Retrospective determinism the argument that be-
is a particular case of the argumentum ad ignoran- cause an event has occurred under some circum-
tiam fallacy, here the burden is shifted on the per- stance, the circumstance must have made its occur-
son defending against the assertion. rence inevitable.
Shotgun argumentation the arguer oers such a
Petitio principii see begging the question. large number of arguments for a position that the
opponent can't possibly respond to all of them. (See
Post hoc ergo propter hoc Latin for after this, there-
Argument by verbosity and "Gish Gallop", above.)
fore because of this (faulty cause/eect, coinciden-
tal correlation, correlation without causation) X Special pleading where a proponent of a position
happened, then Y happened; therefore X caused Y. attempts to cite something as an exemption to a gen-
The Loch Ness Monster has been seen in this loch. erally accepted rule or principle without justifying
Something tipped our boat over; its obviously the the exemption.
Loch Ness Monster.[49]
Wrong direction cause and eect are reversed.
Proof by assertion a proposition is repeatedly re- The cause is said to be the eect and vice versa.[52]
stated regardless of contradiction; sometimes con-
fused with argument from repetition (argumentum 2.1 Faulty generalizations
ad innitum)
Faulty generalizations reach a conclusion from weak
Proof by verbosity (argumentum verbosium, proof
premises. Unlike fallacies of relevance, in fallacies of de-
by intimidation) submission of others to an argu-
fective induction, the premises are related to the conclu-
ment too complex and verbose to reasonably deal
sions yet only weakly buttress the conclusions. A faulty
with in all its intimate details. (See also Gish Gallop
generalization is thus produced.
and argument from authority.)
Bulverism (psychogenetic fallacy) inferring why Denist fallacy involves the confusion between two
an argument is being used, associating it to some notions by dening one in terms of the other.[95]
psychological reason, then assuming it is invalid as Naturalistic fallacy attempts to prove a claim about
a result. It is wrong to assume that if the origin of an ethics by appealing to a denition of the term good
idea comes from a biased mind, then the idea itself in terms of either one or more claims about natural
must also be a falsehood.[42] properties (sometimes also taken to mean the appeal
Chronological snobbery where a thesis is deemed to nature) or Gods will.[77]
incorrect because it was commonly held when Slippery slope (thin edge of the wedge, camels
something else, clearly false, was also commonly nose) asserting that a relatively small rst step in-
held.[85][86] evitably leads to a chain of related events culminat-
ing in some signicant impact/event that should not
Fallacy of relative privation (not as bad as) dis-
happen, thus the rst step should not happen. While
missing an argument or complaint due to the exis-
this fallacy is a popular one, it is, in its essence, an
tence of more important problems in the world, re-
appeal to probability fallacy. (e.g. if person x does
gardless of whether those problems bear relevance
y then z would [probably] occur, leading to q, lead-
to the initial argument.
ing to w, leading to e.)[96] This is also related to the
Genetic fallacy where a conclusion is suggested Reductio ad absurdum.
based solely on something or someones origin
rather than its current meaning or context.[87]
Judgmental language insulting or pejorative lan-
4 See also
guage to inuence the recipients judgment.
List of common misconceptions
Naturalistic fallacy (isought fallacy,[88] naturalistic
List of cognitive biases
fallacy[89] ) claims about what ought to be on the
basis of statements about what is. List of memory biases
Pooh-pooh - dismissing an argument unworthy of List of topics related to public relations and propa-
serious consideration.[90] ganda
Straw man fallacy an argument based on misrep- Sophistical Refutations, in which Aristotle presented
resentation of an opponents position.[91] thirteen fallacies
7
Straight and Crooked Thinking (book) [23] Fallacy: Begging the Question. nizkor.org. Retrieved
2016-02-24.
Mathematical fallacy
[24] Bo Bennett. Begging the Question. logicallyfalla-
List of paradoxes cious.com. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
[6] Straker, David. Conjunction Fallacy. Changing- [34] Pirie 2006, p. 31.
Minds.org. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
[35] Pirie 2006, p. 53.
[7] Curtis, The Masked Man Fallacy.
[36] Gula 2002, p. 97.
[8] Wilson 1999, p. 316.
[37] Fallacy False Dilemma. Nizkor. The Nizkor Project.
[9] Wilson 1999, p. 317. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
[12] Bunnin & Yu 2004, informal fallacy. [40] Fischer 1970, p. 209.
[13] Johnsons Refutation of Berkeley: Kicking the Stone [41] Bunnin & Yu 2004, Homunculus.
Again. JSTOR 2709600.
[42] A List Of Fallacious Arguments. Retrieved 6 October
[14] Damer 2009, p. 165. 2012.
[15] Carroll, Robert T. The Skeptics Dictionary. divine fal- [43] Wimsatt, William K. and Monroe C. Beardsley. The In-
lacy (argument from incredulity). Retrieved 5 April 2013. tentional Fallacy. Sewanee Review, vol. 54 (1946): 468-
488. Revised and republished in The Verbal Icon: Studies
[16] Toolkit for Thinking. in the Meaning of Poetry, U of Kentucky P, 1954: 3-18.
[17] Repetition. changingminds.org. Retrieved 2016-02-24. [44] Copi & Cohen 1990, p. 105.
[18] Ad nauseam Toolkit For Thinking. toolkitforthink- [45] Taleb, Nassim (2007). The Black Swan. Random House.
ing.com. Retrieved 2016-02-24. p. 309. ISBN 1-4000-6351-5. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
[19] Argument from silence Toolkit For Thinking. toolkit- [46] TheFreeDictionary. Naturalistic fallacy.
forthinking.com. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
[47] John Searle, "How to Derive 'Ought' from 'Is", The Philo-
[20] Bo Bennett. Argument from Silence. logicallyfalla- sophical Review, 73:1 (January 1964), 43-58
cious.com. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
[48] Alex Walter, "The Anti-naturalistic Fallacy: Evolution-
[21] Damer 2009, p. 150. ary Moral Psychology and the Insistence of Brute Facts",
Evolutionary Psychology, 4 (2006), 33-48
[22] Your logical fallacy is begging the question. Thou shalt
not commit logical fallacies. Retrieved 2016-02-24. [49] Damer 2009, p. 180.
8 5 REFERENCES
[50] Damer 2009, p. 208. [83] Appeal to Widespread Belief. Retrieved 6 October
2012.
[51] Semiotics Glossary R, Referential fallacy or illusion
[84] Gary Curtis. Logical Fallacy: Guilt by Association. fal-
[52] Gula 2002, p. 135. lacyles.org.
[53] Pirie 2006, p. 5. [85] Encyclopedia Bareldiana. davidlavery.net.
[54] Flew 1984, No-true-Scotsman move. [86] Archived copy. Archived from the original on February
[55] Hurley 2007, p. 155. 5, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
[59] Gary Curtis. Logical Fallacy: Red Herring. fallacy- [90] Munson, Ronald; Black, Andrew (2016). The Elements
les.org. Retrieved 2016-02-24. of Reasoning. Cengage Learning. p. 257. ISBN
1305886836.
[60] http://logical-critical-thinking.com/logical-fallacy/
red-herring-fallacy/ [91] Walton 2008, p. 22.
[61] Logical Fallacies. logicalfallacies.info. Retrieved 2016- [92] Curtis, The Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy.
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[93] Pirie 2006, p. 164.
[62] Walton 2008, p. 187.
[94] Johnson & Blair 1994, p. 122.
[63] Bo Bennett. Ad Hominem (Abusive)". logicallyfalla-
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Flew, Antony (1984). A Dictionary of Philosophy: Paul, Richard; Elder, Linda (2006). Thinkers Guide
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IsBeautiful.net
Master List of Logical Fallacies University of Texas
6 Further reading at El Paso
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