Kind of Fallacies

Toni C.
Mosquera 12-ABM
Example of Kind of Fallicies in Academic Writing
1. Ad Hominem
Example:
Tony wants us to believe that the origin of life was an “accident”. Tony is a godless
SOB who has spent more time in jail than in church, so the only information we
should consider from him is the best way to make license plates.
Explanation: Tony may be a godless SOB. Perhaps he did spend more time in the
joint than in church, but all this is irrelevant to his argument or truth of his claim as to
the origin of life.
(Walton, D. (1998). Ad hominem arguments. University of Alabama Press.)
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/1/Ad-Hominem-
Abusive
2. Straw Man
Ted: Biological evolution is both a theory and a fact.
Edwin: That is ridiculous! How can you possibly be absolutely certain that we
evolved from pond scum!
Ted: Actually, that is a gross misrepresentation of my assertion. I never claimed we

evolved from pond scum. Unlike math and logic, science is based on empirical
evidence and, therefore, a scientific fact is something that is confirmed to such a
degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional consent. The empirical
evidence for the fact that biological evolution does occur falls into this category.
Explanation: Edwin has ignorantly mischaracterized the argument by a) assuming

we evolved from pond scum (whatever that is exactly), and b) assuming “fact”
means “certainty”.
(Hurley, P. J. (2011). A Concise Introduction to Logic. Cengage Learning.)
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/169/Strawman-
Fallacy
3. Appeal to Ignorance (argumentum ad ignorantiam.)

Example:
To this very day (at the time of this writing), science has been unable to create life
from non-life; therefore, life must be a result of divine intervention.
Explanation: Ignoring the false dilemma, the fact that we have not found a way to
create life from non-life is not evidence that there is no way to create life from non-
life, nor is it evidence that we will some day be able to; it is just evidence that we do
not know how to do it. Confusing ignorance with impossibility (or possibility) is
fallacious.
(Walton, D. (2010). Arguments from Ignorance. Penn State Press.)
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/56/Argument-from-
Ignorance
4. False Dilemma
Example:
In politics, let us consider that a politician while campaigning says, "If a government
official doesn't take active measures against corruption, he/she is believed to
support it." In this case, the politician or his party is indirectly hinting that they are
against corruption, and whoever (leader or party) is not, is corrupt. To put it in
simpler terms, the politician is forcing the choice of electing them (on the public), to
stop or fight against corruption.
If their intention was to simply minimize or stop corruption, they could have
suggested options like imposing fines, avoid giving or taking bribes, etc. Therefore,
this example can be considered as an intentional either-or fallacy.
(Vibhav Gaonkar (2018) )
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/94/False-Dilemma
5. Slippery Slope
Example:
If you accept that the story of Adam and Eve was figurative, then you will do the
same for most of the Old Testament stories of similar literary styles. Once you are
there, the New Testament and the story of Jesus does not make sense, which will
lead you to believe that the resurrection of Jesus was a “spiritual” one. Once you
accept that, you won’t be a Christian anymore; you will be a dirty atheist, then you
will have no morals and start having sex with animals of a barnyard nature. So you
better take the story of Adam and Eve literally, before the phrase, “that chicken looks
delicious”, takes on a whole new meaning.
Explanation: Accepting the story of Adam and Eve as figurative rarely (it is sad that I
cannot confidently say “never”) leads to bestiality.
(Walton, D. N. (1992). Slippery Slope Arguments. Clarendon Press.)
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/162/Slippery-Slope
6. Circular Argument (petitio principii)
Example:
'President Reagan was a great communicator because he had the knack of talking
effectively to the people.' The terms in the beginning of the sentence (great
communicator) and the end of the sentence (talking effectively) are
interchangeable."
(Stephen Reid, The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers, 5th ed., 2000)
https://www.thoughtco.com/circular-reasoning-petitio-principii-1689842
7. Hasty Generalization
Example:
"It was a rainy day in Harvard Square, so the foot traffic through the atrium from
Mass Ave to Mount Auburn Street was heavier than it might have been if the sun
were out. A lot of people were carrying umbrellas, which most of them furled inside. I
had always thought that Cambridge, in the vicinity of Harvard, might have had the
most umbrellas per capita of any place in the world. People used them when it
snowed. In my childhood, in Laramie, Wyoming, we used to think people who carried
umbrellas were sissies. It was almost certainly a hasty generalization, but I had
never encountered a hard argument against it." ("Sixkill." Putnam, 2011)
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/100/Hasty-
Generalization
8. Red Herring
Example:
Mike: It is morally wrong to cheat on your spouse, why on earth would you have
done that?
Ken: But what is morality exactly?
Mike: It’s a code of conduct shared by cultures.
Ken: But who creates this code?...
Explanation: Ken has successfully derailed this conversation off of his sexual
digressions to the deep, existential, discussion on morality.
(Hurley, P. J. (2011). A Concise Introduction to Logic. Cengage Learning.)
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/150/Red-Herring
9. Tu Quoque Fallacy
Example:
Jimmy Swaggart argued strongly against sexual immorality, yet he has had several
affairs with prostitutes; therefore, sexual immorality is acceptable
Explanation: The fact Jimmy Swaggart likes to play a round of bedroom golf with
some local entrepreneurial ladies, is not evidence for sexual immorality in general,
only that he is sexually immoral.
(Walton, D. (1998). Ad hominem arguments. University of Alabama Press.)
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/11/Ad-Hominem-Tu-
quoque
10. Causal Fallacy

Example:
People generally like to walk on the beach. Beaches have sand. Therefore, having
sand floors in homes would be a great idea!
Explanation: As cool as the idea of sand floors might sound, the conclusion does not
follow from the premises. The fact that people generally like to walk on sand does
not mean that they want sand in their homes, just like because people generally like
to swim, they shouldn’t flood their houses.
(Hyslop, J. H. (1892). The Elements of Logic, Theoretical and Practical. C.
Scribner’sSons.)
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/64/Causal-
Reductionism
11. Fallacy of Sunk Costs
Example:
There are ministers, priests, pastors, and other clergy all around the world who have
invested a significant portion of their lives in theology, who can no longer manage to
hold supernatural beliefs -- who have moved beyond faith. Hundreds of them recognize
those sunk costs and are searching for the best way to move on whereas many others
cannot accept the loss of their religious investment, and continue to practice a
profession inconsistent with their beliefs.
Explanation: Of course, the clergy who have not moved beyond faith and are living
consistently with their beliefs have not committed this fallacy.
(Besanko, D., & Braeutigam, R. (2010). Microeconomics. John Wiley & Sons.)
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/173/Sunk-Cost-Fallacy
12. Appeal to Authority (argumentum ad verecundiam)
Example:
Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and perhaps the foremost expert in the
field, says that evolution is true. Therefore, it's true.
Explanation: Richard Dawkins certainly knows about evolution, and he can

confidently tell us that it is true, but that doesn't make it true. What makes it true is
the preponderance of evidence for the theory.
(Hume, D. (2004). An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Courier

Corporation.)
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/21/Appeal-to-
Authority
13. Equivocation(ambiguity)
Example:
The priest told me I should have faith.
I have faith that my son will do well in school this year.
Therefore, the priest should be happy with me.
Explanation: The term “faith” used by the priest, was in the religious sense of
believing in God without sufficient evidence, which is different from having “faith” in
your son in which years of good past performance leads to the “faith” you might have
in your son.
(Parry, W. T., & Hacker, E. A. (n.d.). Aristotelian Logic. SUNY Press.)
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/81/Equivocation
14. Appeal to Pity

Example:
I really deserve an “A” on this paper, professor. Not only did I study during my
grandmother’s funeral, but I also passed up the heart transplant surgery, even
though that was the first matching donor in 3 years.
Explanation: The student deserves an “A” for effort and dedication but, unfortunately,
papers are not graded that way. The fact that we should pity her has nothing to do
with the quality of the paper written, and if we were to adjust the grade because of
the sob stories, we would have fallen victim to the appeal to pity.
(Walton, D. (2006). Fundamentals of Critical Argumentation. Cambridge University)
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/39/Appeal-to-Pity
15. Bandwagon Fallacy

Example:
"Whether examining or writing arguments, make sure you detect logical fallacies that
weaken arguments. Use evidence to support claims and validate information—this
will make you appear credible and create trust in the minds of your audience."
(Karen A. Wink, "Rhetorical Strategies for Composition: Cracking an Academic
Code." Rowman & Littlefield, 2016)
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-logical-fallacy-1691259

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Toni C.

Ted: Biological evolution is both a theory and a fact.

Ted: Actually, that is a gross misrepresentation of my assertion. I never claimed we

Explanation: Edwin has ignorantly mischaracterized the argument by a) assuming

3. Appeal to Ignorance (argumentum ad ignorantiam.)

10. Causal Fallacy

11. Fallacy of Sunk Costs

12. Appeal to Authority (argumentum ad verecundiam)

Explanation: Richard Dawkins certainly knows about evolution, and he can

(Hume, D. (2004). An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Courier

14. Appeal to Pity

15. Bandwagon Fallacy

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