Student Notes

Ad Hominem fallacy: responding to an argument attacking a person’s character rather than the content of their argument.

Circular Reasoning: Someone argues the point they’re trying to make by supporting it with other reasons that are supported by their original point.

Ad Nauseum: Making the argument by repetition; saying the same thing over and over again.

Appeal to Tradition: “We do this because that’s how we’ve always done it.”

Appeal to Ignorance: Arguing that something is true just because it hasn’t been proven false.

Appeal to Numbers: Citing statistics to prove an argument

Appeal to Popularity: “All the cool kids are doing it.”

Cum Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc: “with this because of this” – just because two things happen together doesn’t mean they’re related or one causes the other.  (e.g., just because a student attends RHS doesn’t mean she has two legs)

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc: just because something happens after something else doesn’t mean the first thing causes the second.

Red Herring: the art of distraction (“SQUIRREL!!!” or “Grumpy Cat!”)

Slippery Slope: Metaphor—taking one step and sliding the rest of the way.  Either giving away the whole argument based on one point, or applying the same standard to everyone without reason: “If I do it for you, I’ll have to do it for everyone else.”  Assuming that if you give one person/point away, you’ll have to give away the whole show.

Straw Man: Putting words into someone’s mouth (and that someone may or may not exist) for the purpose of exaggerating or distorting the opposing viewpoint.

Naturalistic Fallacy: Using nature as a reason to go from fact to value.

You Too: The idea that two wrongs make a right.  “My opponent accuses me of distorting the facts and exaggerating the evidence, but she does too.”

Begging the Question: (this is the same as Circular Reasoning, just make sure to use the phrase correctly rather than suggesting that something is “raising a question.”  Here, the use of the word begging is intended to suggest torturing a topic beyond its logical conclusion.)

Non Sequitur: Something that doesn’t go in sequence; an illogical leap to an unrelated topic or idea.

Appeal to Authority: the fallacy of asserting an idea as correct just because a person/entity in power says it is.