Logical Fallacies

From an 18th century Arabian proverb about a camel:   “If you allow a camel to put their nose into your tent, then it is inevitable that their body will soon follow.”

• Ad Hominem

• slippery slope

• Strawman

• Appeal to Emotion

“If you don’t stop eating eggs, you will have a heart attack and die.”

• Bandwagon

• Appeal to Authority

• Black or white

• Appeal to emotion

“The rest of the nation shops at Bob’s Market.  You should, too!”

• Bandwagon

• Appeal to authority

• Cherry picking

• Strawman

“You shouldn’t listen to a thing she says because she’s so ignorant!  She’s never had an original thought, ever!”

• Appeal to emotion

• Slippery Slope

• Ad Hominem

• Anecdotal

“Nine out of ten dentists agree that you should use Bob’s Toothpaste!”

• False cause

• Strawman

• Appeal to emotion

• Appeal to authority

“Though your report is 428 pages long, I draw your attention to this single statement on page 247 which seems to refute your entire claim.”

• Cherry picking

• Appeal to emotion

• Black or white

• False cause

“It is ridiculous to suggest we should give out study guides to students.  We shouldn’t just give out easy A’s to everyone!”

• Cherry picking

• Strawman

• Appeal to emotion

• Slippery slope

“Every evening, I have two cookies for dessert after dinner.  One evening, I had a slice of cake instead, and that night there was a major earthquake in my city.  I’ve only eaten cookies for dessert ever since.”

• Strawman

• Black or white

• Bandwagon

• False cause

“Today, Bob said something that was critical of capitalism, so therefore he must be a communist.” 

• Strawman

• Cherry picking

• Black or white

• Appeal to emotion

“You shouldn’t travel by plane because my Uncle James once flew in a plane and was in a plane crash.”

• Anecdotal

• Appeal to emotion

• Strawman

• False cause