What is an Ad Hominem Fallacy? Simple Definitions An ad hominem fallacy is when someone argues by attacking the person who made a point, instead of addressing the point itself. Imagine that two kids are talking, and one says, “Your idea won’t work because you’re always lying.” They’re not talking about the idea; they’re just calling the other kid a liar. That... »
I. Definition The Slippery Slope fallacy, also known as the Camel’s Nose, is an argument that assumes that certain, usually extreme, consequences will inevitably occur as a result of one event or condition, based on a chain of cause of effect. The fallacy is usually used to argue against a decision, based on the idea that the decision in question will end up causing a 2nd event in the chain and th... »
I. Definition The Straw Man fallacy, also been called the Aunt Sally argument in Great Britain, creates an illusion, based on erroneous reasoning. A person introducing a “straw man” changes the subject of the original argument in order to distract his or her opponent and argues about the deceptively substituted idea instead of the original point. The new argument is often, although not necessarily... »
I. Definition A Texas sharpshooter fallacy occurs when someone draws conclusions based on only the consistent data – the data points that are similar to each other — ignoring data that may not support the conclusion. This does not allow the data to paint the full picture of what is really going on. This fallacy gets its name from a story in which a Texas shooter fired many bullet holes into ... »
I. What is Begging the Question? Begging the Question is a form of logical fallacy that is based on assumptions. We assume that something is true and has weight even though it may have no legs to stand on. The premises of the argument presuppose the conclusion. Most arguments made without reference to specific factual evidence essentially “beg the question.” It is also known as a form of circular ... »
I. What is Appeal to Authority There are many types of fallacies that people often use in philosophical argumentation. Fallacies are arguments that seem at the surface level to make sense, but are not actually based on logic. One example of such a fallacy is called an appeal to authority. This is when you try to make the case for something because someone with authority either does or endorses the... »
I. What is Moralistic Fallacy? A moralistic fallacy could be any belief or argument that the world is as you think it should be, morally. An example of a moralistically fallacious belief is that because war is morally wrong, humans do not have any predispositions toward engaging in war. Looking to history for guidance, it can be seen that this is not true. Humans have been fighting for hundreds of... »
I. Definition The definist fallacy occurs when someone defines a concept in biased terms for the sake of an argument. The person making the argument hopes his or her audience will accept the provided definition, which makes the argument difficult to refute. The phrase was first coined in 1939 by William Frankena in reference to G. E. Moore’s Naturalistic Fallacy in which Moore claimed that “good” ... »
I. Definition An accident fallacy is an error in reasoning caused by sweeping generalizations. It occurs when you assume that a rule-of-thumb applies to everyone or every situation, including obvious exceptions. While generalizing helps make the world easier to understand, often generalizations do not apply to every situation. An accident fallacy is using such a generalization to draw an incorrect... »