Logical Fallacies and Rhetorical Appeals

Families communicate less and less in the past forty years since social media became mainstream. Social media is to blame for this deterioration in the family.

• ad hominem attack

• circular reasoning

• correlation vs causation

• equivocation

"My opponent raises a really good point, but can we really trust him? He moved to this town three years ago and everyone knows his wife left him.

• strawman

• correlation vs causation

• band wagon

• ad hominem

Oh, please. What do you know about labor laws? You don't even have a job.

• equivocation

• slippery slope

• ad hominem

• bandwagon effect

Charlie: I think we should put more money into schools. Quality public education is so important. Bob: So you’re saying we should cut military spending and spend it instead on more spiral notebooks and crayons? I guess you want our country to be a weak, defenseless target for terrorists.

• straw man

• false dichotomy

• bandwagon effect

• ad hominem attack

Global chocolate consumption is highest in Switzerland, yet people there are among the trimmest in the industrialized world. Therefore, it’s reasonable to conclude that chocolate helps keep your weight down.

• correlation vs causation

• bandwagon effect

• straw man

• equivocation

America is the best place to live, because it's better than any other country.

• ad hominem

• red herring

• circular logic

• straw man

An ad hominem attack

• is a very effective debate strategy
• goes after a person's argument.
• is always against a popular idea.
• is an attack on the person, not the argument 

I guess I should buy my 12-year-old daughter an iPhone. Everyone at her new school has one and I want her to fit in with the other kids.

• Circular Reasoning

• False Dichotomy

• Bandwagon

• Straw Man

Charlie: I think we should put more money into schools. Quality public education is so important.

Bob: So you’re saying we should cut military spending and spend it instead on more spiral notebooks and crayons? I guess you want our country to be a weak, defenseless target for terrorists.

• Ad Hominem

• Red Herring

• Circular Reasoning

• Straw Man

You need to go to the party with me, otherwise you’ll just be bored at home.

• ad hominem attack

• circular reasoning

• false dichotomy

• straw man