Identifying Logical Fallacies

"Of course this idea works—everyone in our class agrees with it!"

• Simple Assertion

• Argument by Authority

• Argument by Democratic Majority

• False Analogy

"This student’s argument about the school budget is invalid—he failed economics last semester."

• Playing the Player, Not the Ball

• Misidentified Solution

• Excessive Demand

• False Dichotomy

"If we let students choose their own classes, soon they’ll be skipping school altogether!"

• Slippery Slope

• Red Herring

• Misidentified Problem

• Unsupported Assertion

"I don’t think we should trust this theory—something about it just feels wrong."

• Argument by Authority

• Simple Assertion / Unsupported Assertion

• False Analogy

• Argument by Anecdote

"According to Dr. Smith, a Nobel Prize winner, this education policy is the best approach."

• Misidentified Solution

• False Dichotomy

• Argument by Authority

• Slippery Slope

"My brother studied at home and got into a top university. So everyone should self-study."

• Argument by Anecdote

• Argument by Democratic Majority

• Playing the Player

• Equating Correlation to Causation

"Students are struggling with science, so the real issue is that the school library needs updating."

• False Analogy

• Introducing Irrelevant Issues

• Misidentified Problem

• Argument by Authority

"If we don’t get perfect results with this new teaching method, it’s a complete failure."

• Excessive Demand

• Slippery Slope

• False Analogy

• False Dichotomy

"We can’t let students use phones in class—it’s just like letting them bring video games."

• Argument by Authority

• Misidentified Solution

• False Analogy

• Red Herring

"Research shows students who sleep more get better grades. So sleeping more causes academic success."

• Argument by Anecdote

• Equating Correlation to Causation

• Excessive Demand

• Misidentified Problem