FALLACIES RULES Amphiboly: arguments whose meanings are indeterminate because of loose or awkward Ad hominem abusive: attack a person's age, character, sentence construction. family, gender, ethnicity, social or economic Accent: emphases that generate multiple and often status, personality, appearance, dress, behavior, misleading interpretations. or professional, political, or religious Accident (destroying the exception): ignoring affiliations. exceptions to a rule. Fallaciously moves from a Ad hominem “you too” (tu quoque): the attempt to general statement to a particular. refute a claim by attacking its proponent on the Hasty generalizations (converse-accident): fallaciously grounds that he or she is a hypocrite, upholds a inferring a conclusion about an entire class of double standard of conduct, or is selective and things from inadequate knowledge of some of therefore inconsistent in enforcing a principle. its members. Fallaciously moves from Ad hominem vested interest: attempt to refute a claim particular statements to a general statement by arguing that its proponents are motivated by False analogy: comparing things in an analogy that are the desire to gain something (or avoid losing too dissimilar. something). Gambler’s fallacy: the gambler falsely assumes that the Straw man: attempt to refute a claim by confusing it history of outcomes will affect future with a less plausible claim (the straw man) and outcomes. then attacking that less plausible claim instead False Cause (post hoc ergo propter hoc – “after this, of addressing the original issue. therefore because of this”): confusing a cause Appeal to force (ad baculum): the attempt to establish with an effect; inferring a causal connection a conclusion by threat or intimidation. based on mere correlation. Appeal to authority (ad verecundiam): we accept (or Suppressed evidence (cherry picking the evidence): reject) a claim merely because of the prestige, intentionally failing to use information status, or respect we accord its proponents (or suspected of being relevant and significant. opponents). Denying the antecedent (fallacious modus tollens): Appeal to the masses (ad populum): we infer a denying the antecedent of an if-then statement, conclusion merely on the grounds that most and then inferring that the consequent must also people accept it. be denied. Appeal to pity (ad misericordiam): we are asked to Affirming the consequent (fallacious modus ponens): excuse or forgive an action on the grounds of affirming the consequent in an if-then extenuating circumstances. statement, and then inferring that the Appeal to ignorance (ad ignorantiam): X has not been antecedent is true. proved, therefore x is false. Composition: invalidly imputing characteristics of one Red herring (changing the subject): an extraneous or or more parts of a thing to the whole of which tangential matter used purely to divert attention they are parts. away from the issue posed by the argument. Division: invalidly imputing characteristics of the parts Irrelevant conclusion (missing the point; ignoratio to the whole to the parts. elenchi): the premises of an argument warrant a Excluded middle (false dichotomy, misuse of “or”): different conclusion from the one that the making a false assumption that only one of a arguer draws number of alternatives holds. Circular reasoning (begging the question and petition Slippery slope (misuse of “if-then”): the conclusion of principia): assuming what we are trying to an argument rests upon an alleged chain prove (assumes its own conclusion). reaction, suggesting that a single step will Question-begging epithet: phrases that prejudice result in an undesirable outcome. discussion and assume the very point at issue. Complex question (loaded question): presupposing an answer to a logically prior question. Equivocation (ambiguity): the meaning of an expression shifts during the course of an argument.