Logical Fallacies

1. Literally means 'at the man'. Challenging the author rather than the argument. Eg. 'his argument can't be trusted because he is a drug user' (2, 7)
5. Literally means 'after this'. This implies that if something happens after something else, the first thing was the cause. For example, 'I ate peanut butter before an exam and passed that exam; therefore, the peanut butter is the reason' (4, 3)
7. This fallacy assumes that one small act will lead to a huge problem. For example, 'if students are allowed to wear make up they will begin to come into school with bright pink hair' (8, 5)
8. The act of suggesting only two possible outcomes when there are, in fact,many more. Eg. 'If you're not voting Conservative you must be voting Labour'. (5, 9)

2. This argument would imply you have missed out on vital information. Eg. 'eating meat is okay because animals don't feel pain'. However, animals do feel pain. (2, 3)
3. This fallacy is the idea that the argument can easily blown away. Straw man logic would be saying 'drugs are bad and should therefore be illegal'. There is much more to this debate than this, therefore the argument can easily be taken down. (5, 3)
4. Literally means 'you too'. Hypocritical reasoning. Eg. If the US is condemning China's pollution. (2, 6)
6. This often opens up more problems than it solves. Eg. 'If you murder someone you deserve to be killed'. However, if killing someone is wrong then surely the second killing is no more right. (8, 8)

Get Revising