Polidore 1

Joshua Polidore
Prof. Kane
English 115 Fri.
15 September 2016
Logical Falacies
1. You can never give anyone a break. If you do, they'll walk all over you.
This type of fallacy is known as a faulty causality because the author assumes that these events
will happen in a chronological order.
2. For my personal reference, you can rely on John's opinion. I can vouch for him.
This type of fallacy is a hasty generalization because the author uses biased evidence to vouch
for John.
3. Employees are like nails. Just as nails must be hit in the head in order to make them work, so
must employees.
This type of fallacy is known as a false analogy because the author tries to make a comparison
between a nail and an employee, but the outcome of hitting each one of the head is completely
different.
4. People who drive SUVs are jerks; I was riding my bicycle yesterday and this guy driving an
SUV swerved
towards me, honked his horn, and nearly ran me off the road.
This type of fallacy is a hasty generalization because the author labels people who SUVs as jerks
based on his own experience.
5. Friedrich Nietzche's attack on social welfare should not be taken seriously. He is said to have
been a degenerate and it is a fact that he went insane.

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This type of fallacy is known as ad hominem because the author simply attacker Nietzsches
character instead of his opinions.
6. I cant be guilty of embezzlement; Im an honest person.
This type of fallacy is a hasty generalization because the author does not provide sufficient
evidence on why they are an honest person.
7. More people die in hospitals than anywhere else. So, if you go to a hospital, it will kill you.
This type of fallacy is known as a faulty causality because the author assumes that these events
will happen in a chronological fashion, however this is not necessarily the case.
8. If you dont oppose the death penalty, you must condone murder.
This is an either/or fallacy because the author only provides two choices, thus disregarding any
other possible outcomes.
9. How can you justify giving this man life imprisonment by declaring him guilty of murder?
After all, since that time he has become a devout Christian and proven to be an exemplary
prisoner during the whole time he was on trial.
This is a red herring fallacy because switches the discussion from life imprisonment to the
prisoners affiliation with Christianity.
10. You have to watch American Idol. It's the most popular show on TV.
This is a bandwagon fallacy because the author vouches for the Tv show because of its
popularity.
11. Californians are all drugs addicts. I met these three guys from Calabasas and, man, were they
stoned.
This type of fallacy is known as a hasty generalization because the author labels all Californians
as drug addicts based on their personal experience from the guys that they met in Calabasas.

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12. Smoking cigarettes is nothing short of suicide.

This is a moral equivalence fallacy because the author compares smoking to suicide.
13. America: Love it or Leave it.
This is an either/or fallacy because the author only gives two choices on loving America or
leaving, while disregarding any other choices.
14. Andrea Dworkin has written several books arguing that pornography harms women. But
Dworkin is an ugly, bitter person, so you shouldn't listen to her.
This type of fallacy is known as ad hominem because the author attacks the character instead of
attacking their ideas.
15. If we legalize marijuana, then more people would start to take to crack and heroin, and we'd
have to legalize
those too. Before long we'd have a nation full of drug-addicts on welfare.
This type of fallacy is known as a slippery slope because the author equates legalizing marijuana
with legalizing all drugs which is not the case.
16. Students in Kindergarten at Jefferson Elementary School did better when given milk and
cookies in class than when not; therefore, students at UCLA will do better too if they are given
milk and cookies in class.
This type of fallacy is known as a false causality because the author assumes that UCLA will
also do better if given milk and cookies in class.
17. Senator Jones says that we should not fund the attack submarine program. I can't understand
why he wants to leave us defenseless like that.
This is a straw man fallacy because the author oversimplifies Senator Joness point of view
18. Everyone else is going out and getting drunk tonight, so you should too.

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This is a bandwagon fallacy since the author advocates drinking because everyone else is
drinking.
19. The administration banned smoking from campus at the end of last year, and fights among
students have gone down this year; therefore, banning smoking caused the reduction in fights
among students.
This type of fallacy is known as a faulty casualty because the author assumers that banning
smoking caused the reduction in fights among student based on chronological event, however
there could be various reasons for the reduction in fights among students.

2 examples of Fallacies in Politics:

Ad hominem: On the social platform known as Twitter, Donald Trump attacked President Obama
as a person by questioning by birth certificate credibility instead of attacking his views relating
to politics.

Bandwagon fallacy: During the presidential election, media outlets encourage people to vote for
specific people based on who has the majority of the votes.