Informal Logical Fallacies

by Gregg Allen Trickett, written 03/17/23

Ad Hominem | to refute an argument by attacking a person's character or qualifications; against the man.

Appeal to Authority | to claim an argument is true because it is supported by an accredited or authority figure; with the intent that the audience neglect logical or critical thinking.

Bandwagon Fallacy | to claim an idea or action is correct because it is popular or common.

Begging the Question or Circular Reasoning | using the same argument in the premise and the conclusion.

Equivocation | to make a deceptive statement using one word knowing the audience will understand an alternate definition of that word.

False Analogy | making a poorly suited comparison of one thing to another in order to draw a false conclusion.

False Dichotomy or False Dilemma | to present only two options when at least a third option exists.

Guilt by Association | to assume culpability because of affiliation, relationship or identification.

Argument from Ignorance | to claim something is a certain way because it has not been shown otherwise.

Poisoning the Well | to preemptively discredit an opponent or argument before his statement is tendered.

Questionable Cause | to confuse association with causation.

Red Herring | an attempt to shift focus from one point to an irrelevant point, to an unrelated distraction.

Reification | to treat something abstract as real or tangible, something inanimate as having intelligence or ability.

Argument from Silence | to assume no response or not tendering an argument against something is evidence that the argument is true.

Slippery Slope | one event or action will inevitably cause another or series of events.

Straw Man | to use a weaker counterfeit or inaccurate argument rather than state opposition to the actual argument.

Tu Quoque | to excuse one action because of another's similar action.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair of scales? Isa 40:12