Ad Populum

 Everybody on earth believes that is the Earth that goes around the Sun, not the
contrary. You would simply be wrong to believe otherwise.
 All great scientists on the field of Biology believe that Evolution is true. Are you sure
you want to be in the obviously wrong side by defying that?
 Almost all Christians believe that the Bible is inspired and innerant. Considering you
are also a Christian, we can definately state that you're wrong in denying that.
Ad Misericordiam

 I am a widow in poor health and if all of my children were drafted, sent to a war
and killed, I would not be able to cope.
 I am filing for reconsideration of the offenses complained about. Since I am a well-
known athlete, I can make your University great again.
 Oh, Officer, there's no reason to give me a traffic ticket for going too fast because I
was just on my way to the hospital to bring blood bags to my dying child. They are
needed in a few minutes.

Red Herring

Examples:

1. Son: "Wow, Dad, it's really hard to make a living on my salary." Father: "Consider
yourself lucky, son. Why, when I was your age, I only made $40 a week."
2. Senator Clark: "Why are you not willing to support the antiabortion amendment?
Don't you have any feelings at all for the unborn children whose lives are being
indiscriminately blotted out?" Senator Rich: "I just don't understand why you
people who get so worked up about lives being blotted out by abortion don't have
the same feelings about the thousands of lives that are blotted out every year by
the indiscriminate use of handguns. Is not the issue of the sanctity of human life
involved in both issues? Why have you not supported us in our efforts at gun-
control legislation?"
3. Student: "The opinions of the students are completely ignored in the process of
determining both curricular changes and social programs. The students should
have a much greater voice in campus governance, because we have a very
great stake in this institution, and we think that we have a positive contribution to
make." Professor: "The faculty are the ones who need a greater voice.
Professors can be fired without explanation, and they have no control over who is
promoted or given tenure. Their opinions about budgetary allotments are
completely ignored. Why aren't you concerned about the injustice the faculty is
experiencing?"
4. Daughter: "I'm so hurt that Todd broke up with me, Mom." Mother: "Just think of
all the starving children in Africa, honey. Your problems will seem pretty
insignificant then."
5. Ms. Olive has objected to my views on capital punishment by trying to show that
the taking of human life, legally or illegally, cannot be ethically justified. But the
matter is really simple, isn't it? Murderers certainly aren't ethically justified in
taking the lives of their victims. Does anyone ever think of the poor victim?
 6. Andy: "Hey, what's with all this junk food you bought? You're always railing at me
about eating healthy." Aunt Bea: "Don't fuss -- it was on sale."
7. Reporter: "It seems to me that if you were elected president, the Congress with
which you would have to work would not be very cooperative at all. How could
you, as president, bring about any reform or help enact any beneficial legislation
with a Congress that was almost totally opposed to your programs?" Ross Perot:
"Well, if I were elected, about half the members of Congress would drop dead of
heart attacks, and half of my problem would be solved from the outset."
8. Jack: "Bob Dylan is the greatest performer of our time." Jill: "Well, Dylan is a fine
writer, but as a performer, he stinks. I saw a concert of his once and we was
singing unintelligibly and looked like he was falling asleep." Jack: "Well,
Fleetwood Mac, one of your favorite groups, is not so great in concert either."
9. Teresa: "It's so obvious that an open society will always be vulnerable to terrorist
attack, so the question is how much of our free movement we are willing to
sacrifice for national security." George: "No, the question is how our government
agencies could have been so stupid as to ignore all the signs of the impending
attack."
10. Reporter: "Mr. President, your opponent, Walter Mondale is considerably
younger than you. Do you think that with the threat of nuclear war, age should be
an issue in this campaign?" President Reagan: "Not at all. I am not going to
exploit my opponent's youth and inexperience."

Ad hominem

Example #1:

“How can you argue your case for vegetarianism when you are enjoying that steak?”

This clearly shows how a person is attacked instead of being addressed for or
against his argument.

Example #2:

A classic example of ad hominem fallacy is given below:

A: “All murderers are criminals, but a thief isn’t a murderer, and so can’t be a
criminal.”
B: “Well, you’re a thief and a criminal, so there goes your argument.”

Examples of Ad Hominem:
General Examples of Ad Hominem Arguments
1. A politician arguing that his opponent cannot possibly be a good choice for women
because he has a religious conviction that causes him to be pro-life.
2. A lawyer who argues that his client should not be held responsible for theft because
he is poor.
3. A parent who says that the teacher doesn't know how to teach because she
graduated from a community college.
4. A mother who tells the pediatrician that she doesn't trust his judgment because he's
never been a mother.
5. A commercial that pictures a particular team's football coach driving a specific type
of truck versus another type of truck.

Ad baculum

Example #1:

Melvin: Boss, why do I have to work weekends when nobody else in the company does?

Boss: Am I sensing insubordination? I can find another employee very quickly, thanks to Craigslist, you know.

Explanation: Melvin has asked a legitimate question to which he did not get a legitimate answer, rather his
question was deflected by a threat of force (as being forced out of his job).

Example #2:

Jordan: Dad, why do I have to spend my summer at Jesus camp?

Dad: Because if you don’t, you will spend your entire summer in your room with nothing but your Bible!

Ignoratio Elenchi

Example of Ignoratio Elenchi

Hippos can't be dangerous to humans, because they are so calm and look so cute. (Proving an irrelevant conclusion. Also
interesting to note, that of all animals, hippos cause the highest number of human deaths in Africa.)

Example

There has been an increase in burglary in the area. It must be because there are more
people moving into the area.

The Chief Executive has a Law degree. We'd better make sure we're all above board.

You are hot and I am cold. You are wearing a brown coat. So let's go for a drink.
Ignoratio elenchi", (from latin, literally meaning "ignorance of proof") is an informal fallacy. It is committed
when an argument is made that is not relevant to the point being discussed, even though the argument itself
may be valid. Related to red herrings in that both can distract from the issue at hand. A person may ask
"what's that got to do with the price of tea in China?" upon encountering this fallacy. Consider the following
example where two people are debating whether drugs should be legal or not:

 Person A: "If drugs were legalised criminals wouldn't be able to sell them anymore due to
competition from legal sources. Drug wars and other drug related crime would be reduced and less
people killed as a result. Keeping drugs illegal causes more problems than it solves."
Person B: "Yeah, but people would still find something else to kill each other over."

In the example above Person B has committed the ignoratio elenchi fallacy. Their point about people killing for
reasons other than drugs, while perhaps true, is unrelated to whether drugs should be legal or not. It does not
address the points made by Person A. Here is another example:

 Person A: "Humans and chimpanzees evolved from a common ancestor. Here is evidence X, Y and
Z."
Person B: "Hitler was a social Darwinist and used eugenics to try and create a master race. Many
people were killed as a result. Here is evidence X, Y, and Z."

Person B has again proved a point unrelated to the matter at hand. The truth value of the theory of evolution
is independent of the applications it's used for / used to justify.

Ad ignorantiam

Example #2:

To this very day (at the time of this writing), science has been unable to create life from non-life; therefore,
life must be a result of divine intervention.

Explanation: Ignoring the false dilemma, the fact that we have not found a way to create life from non-life is
not evidence that there is no way to create life from non-life, nor is it evidence that we will some day be able
to; it is just evidence that we do not know how to do it. Confusing ignorance with impossibility (or possibility)
is fallacious.

Examples:

1. Him: "C'mon, hook up with me tonight." Her: "Why should I?" Him: "Why
shouldn't you?"
2. Since you haven't been able to prove your innocence, I must assume you're
guilty.
3. You know that scientists can't prove that UFO's do not visit the Earth, so it makes
sense to believe in them.
4. Even the atheist Freud admitted that the existence of God can't be disproved. So
we have good reason to continue to believe in him.
5. I guess I didn't get the job. They never called me back.
6. She hasn't said she doesn't like you, right? So she's probably interested. Call her
up.
7. Why are you always so skeptical of ESP? Can you prove it doesn't exist?
8. Since all who have tried to prove freedom of the will have failed, we are safe in
assuming we are not free.
 9. I thought I had every reason to think I was doing fine leading the group; no one
complained.

Ad Verecundiam

Logical Form:

According to person 1, who is an expert on the issue of Y, Y is true.

Therefore, Y is true.

Example #1:

Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and perhaps the foremost expert in the field, says that evolution is
true. Therefore, it's true.

Explanation: Richard Dawkins certainly knows about evolution, and he can confidently tell us that it is true,
but that doesn't make it true. What makes it true is the preponderance of evidence for the theory.

Example #2:

How do I know the adult film industry is the third largest industry in the United States? Derek Shlongmiester,
the adult film star of over 50 years, said it was. That's how I know.

Examples of Appeal to Authority:

1. A commercial claims that a specific brand of cereal is the best way to start the day
because athlete Michael Jordan says that it is what he eats every day for breakfast.
2. A book argues that global warming is not actually happening, and cites the research
of one environmental scientist who has been studying climate change for several years.
3. Someone argues that drinking is morally wrong and cites a sermon from her pastor
at church.
4. A little boy says that his friends should not go swimming in a river because his Mama
said there were germs in the river.
5. A commercial claims that 3 out of 4 dentists would choose this particular brand of
toothpaste for their own families to use.
6. My sister-in-law, who is a teacher, said that this school is not somewhere that I
would want to send my children.

Non causa pro causa

Logical Forms:

X apparently causes Y.

Y is wrong.
Therefore, X is wrong.

X apparently causes Y.

Y is right.

Therefore, X is right.

Example #1:

Watching TV that close will make you go blind, so move back!

Explanation: The false effect from watching TV too closely is going blind. For the most part, the threat that
you will “ruin” your eyesight is an old wives tale, but it does have some credibility based on modern studies,
but almost certainly, nobody is going blind from sitting too close unless they ram their eyes into the protruding
knobs. Anyway, the conclusion, “so move back!” is not warranted by the false effect.

Example #2:

Giving 10% of your income to the Church will free a child’s soul from Limbo into Heaven, so give your money!

Forms

Events of type C happen

Event C happened immediately prior to immediately prior to events of
event E. type E.
Therefore, C caused E. Therefore, events of type C cause
events of type E.

Examples

The only policy that effectively reduces …[E]vidence shows that even
public shootings is right-to-carry laws. state and local handgun control
Allowing citizens to carry concealed laws work. For example, in 1974
handguns reduces violent crime. In the Massachusetts passed the
31 states that have passed right-to-carry Bartley-Fox Law, which requires
laws since the mid-1980s, the number of a special license to carry a
multiple-victim public shootings and handgun outside the home or
other violent crimes has dropped business. The law is supported by
dramatically. Murders fell by 7.65%, a mandatory prison sentence.
rapes by 5.2%, aggravated assaults by 7%, Studies by Glenn Pierce and
and robberies by 3%.3 William Bowers of Northeastern
University documented that after
the law was passed handgun
homicides in Massachusetts fell
50% and the number of armed
robberies dropped 35%.4

Counter-Example

Roosters crow just before the sun rises.

Therefore, the crowing of roosters causes the sun to rise.

A. Post hoc ergo propter hoc: (literally "after this, therefore because of this") the
fallacy of arguing that one event was caused by another event merely because it
occurred after that event.

1. I.e., mere succession in time is not enough to establish causal

connection. E.g., consider "Since hair always precedes the growth of
teeth in babies, the growth of hair causes the growth of teeth."

2. Consider also "Every severe recession follows a Republican Presidency;

therefore Republicans are the cause of recessions." Accidental
generalizations need not always be causal relations.

Hasty Gen.

Examples of Hasty Generalization:

1. Three out of four school teachers prefer Bright Marks Markers, but I only asked four
teachers total.
2. You visit a new country and the first person you meet in the airport is rude. You send
a message to a friend back home that everyone in this new country is rude.
3. Christine has a terrible experience with a boyfriend. She decides that all boys are
mean.
4. Kevin's grandparents do not know how to use a computer. Kevin thinks that all older
people must be computer illiterate.
5. My Nana likes to bake and drink hot tea. When I meet your Nana, I am surprised
that she doesn't cook at all and drinks sodas.
6. A driver with a New York license plate cuts you off in traffic. You decide that all New
York drivers are terrible drivers.
7. Alissa has class with a football player who is a class clown. He disrupts the class and
is failing. Alissa decides all football players are not serious students.
8. On the first day of high school, Mark runs into a cheerleader who calls him a name
and tells him to move out of her way. Mark decides all cheerleaders are snobs.
9. Mrs. Miller taught your older brother, who was the class clown. She decides to be
strict with you from the very first day of class because she thinks you will be a clown,
too.
10. Sarah has four male friends who do not like Hillary Clinton. She decides that all
men must not like Hillary Clinton.

Accident

Logical Form:

X is a common and accepted rule.

Therefore, there are no exceptions to X.

Example #1:

I believe one should never deliberately hurt another person, that’s why I can never be a surgeon.

Explanation: Classifying surgery under “hurting” someone, is to ignore the obvious benefits that go with
surgery. These kinds of extreme views are rarely built on reason.

Example #2:

The Bible clearly says, “Thou shall not bear false witness.” Therefore, as a Christian, you better answer the
door and tell our drunk neighbor with the shotgun, that his wife, whom he is looking to kill, is hiding in our
basement. Otherwise, you are defying God himself!

A. The fallacy of accident results from using a statement which has a qualified
meaning as if it had no qualification whatsoever.

1. E.g., "Thou shalt not kill; therefore, you should not try to control
termites in your home or fight for your country."
 2. E.g., "All persons are created equal, so since you made a C in this class,
you haven't been working as hard as you should."
Even though people are supposedly created equal politically, it does not
follow that they are created equal in academic pursuits."

B. The fallacy of accident arises from believing the general premiss which has a
qualified meaning applies in all circumstances without restriction.

1. "The U.S. is a true democracy; therefore, children and criminals should

be allowed to vote."

2. "People are defined as rational animals. Therefore, you should spend

more time reasoning and thinking rather than enjoying yourself with
what you do."

Complex Question

Example #1:

How many times per day do you beat your wife?

Explanation: Even if the response is an emphatic, “none!” the damage has been done. If you are hearing
this question, you are more likely to accept the possibility that the person who was asked this question is a
wife-beater, which is fallacious reasoning on your part.

Example #2:

How many school shootings should we tolerate before we change the gun laws?

Explanation: The presupposition is that changing the gun laws will decrease the number of school shootings.
This may be the case, but it is a claim that is implied in the statement and hidden by a more complex
question. Reactively, when one hears a question such as this, one's mind will attempt to search for an answer
to the question—which is actually a distraction from rejecting the implicit claim being made. It is quite brilliant
but still fallacious.

Exception: It is not a fallacy if the implied information in the question is known to be an accepted fact.

How long can one survive without water?

Here, it is presumed that we need water to survive, which very few would deny that fact.
Petitio Principii

Logical Form:

Claim X assumes X is true.

Therefore, claim X is true.

Example #1:

Paranormal activity is real because I have experienced what can only be described as paranormal activity.

Explanation: The claim, “paranormal activity is real” is supported by the premise, “I have experienced what
can only be described as paranormal activity.” The premise presupposes, or assumes, that the claim,
“paranormal activity is real” is already true.

Example #2:

The reason everyone wants the new "Slap Me Silly Elmo" doll is because this is the hottest toy of the season!

Explanation: Everyone wanting the toy is the same thing as it being "hot," so the reason given is no reason
at all—it is simply rewording the claim and trying to pass it off as support for the claim.

Exception: Some assumptions that are universally accepted could pass as not being fallacious.

People like to eat because we are biologically influenced to eat.

Equivocation

Examples:

1. I have the right to watch "The Real World." Therefore it's right for me to
watch the show. So, I think I'll watch this "Real World" marathon tonight
instead of studying for my exam.
2. The laws imply lawgivers. There are laws in nature. Therefore there must
be a cosmic lawgiver.
3. God: "One million years to me is a second." Man: "What about one million
dollars, my Lord?" God: "A penny." Man: "May my Lord give me a penny?"
God: "No problem, just a second."
4. Noisy children are a real headache. Two aspirin will make a headache go
away. Therefore, two aspirin will make noisy children go away.
5. A warm beer is better than a cold beer. After all, nothing is better than a
cold beer, and a warm beer is better than nothing.
6. Sure philosophy helps you argue better, but do we really need to
encourage people to argue? There's enough hostility in this world.
7. I don't see how you can say you're an ethical person. It's so hard to get
you to do anything; your work ethic is so bad
8. From Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass: "You couldn't have it if
you didn't want it," the Queen said. "The rule is jam tomorrow and jam
 yesterday, but never jam today." "It must come to jam today," Alice
objected. "No, it can't," said the Queen. "It's jam every other day: today
isn't any other day, you know."
9. Philosophy is supposed to stand on neutral ground. But most philosophers
argue for very definite conclusions. This is hardly standing on neutral
ground. Shouldn't we conclude that most philosophers aren't doing
philosophy?
10. Sarah was put in classes for the exceptional student. But i discovered that
despite her age she could hardly read. Surely she was put in
these classes by error.

Amphiboly

 Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help."[1]
Does the Church help reduce worry, or kill people, or both?
 "I am opposed to taxes which slow economic growth."[1]
Is the speaker opposed to all taxes, because they slow economic growth, or just taxes that slow
economic growth? (Though grammatically, as written it would indicate the latter, but if a comma were
added after taxes, it would indicate the former.)
. The anthropologists went to a remote area and took photographs of some native
women, but they weren't developed. (from Marilyn vos Savant)

It is unclear whether or not the modifying phrase "were not developed" refers to the
photographs or the women.

Accent

 "Why are you asking me about Mary's message? I resent her question."
 My spouse must be cheating on me: he told me, 'I don't really love you now.'"

 Example #1: In the movie, My Cousin Vinny, Ralph Maccio's character, Bill, was interrogated for
suspected murder. When the police officer asks him, "when did you shoot the clerk?" Bill replies in
shock, "I shot the clerk? I shot the clerk?" Later in the film, the police officer reads Bill's statement as
a confession in court, "Then he said, 'I shot the clerk. I shot the clerk.'"

 Explanation: In the movie, it appeared that the police officer did understand Bill's question as a
confession. So it did not appear to be a fallacious tactic of the police officer, rather a failure of critical
thought perhaps due to a strong confirmation bias (the officer was very confident that Bill was guilty,
thus failed to detect the nuance in the question).
Composition

Logical Form:

A is part of B.

A has property X.

Therefore, B has property X.

Example #1:

Each brick in that building weighs less than a pound. Therefore, the building weighs less than a pound.

Example #2:

Hydrogen is not wet. Oxygen is not wet. Therefore, water (H2O) is not wet.

Example #3:

Your brain is made of molecules. Molecules do not have consciousness. Therefore, your brain cannot be the
source of consciousness.

This is the general form that the Fallacy of Composition takes:

1. All parts (or members) of X have the property P. Thus, X itself has the property P.

Explanation and Discussion of the Fallacy of Composition

Here are some obvious examples of the Fallacy of Composition:

2. Because the atoms of a penny are not visible to the naked eye, then the penny itself
must also not be visible to the naked eye.

3. Because all of the components of this car are light and easy to carry, then the car itself
must also be light and easy to carry.
Division

Logical Form:

A is part of B.

B has property X.

Therefore, A has property X.

Example #1:

His house is about half the size of most houses in the neighborhood. Therefore, his doors must all be about 3
1/2 feet high.

Explanation: The size of one’s house almost certainly does not mean that the doors will be smaller, especially
by the same proportions. The size of the whole (the house) is not directly related to the size of every part of
the house.

Example #2:

I heard that the Catholic Church was involved in a sex scandal cover-up. Therefore, my 102-year-old Catholic
neighbor, who frequently attends Church, is guilty as well!

Explanation: While it is possible that the 102-year-old granny is guilty for some things, like being way too
liberal with her perfume, she would not be guilty in any sex scandals just by her association with the Church
alone.

Exception: When a part of the whole has a property that, by definition, causes the part to take on that
property.

My 102-year-old neighbor is a card-carrying member of an organization of thugs that requires its members to
kick babies. Therefore, my neighbor is a thug... and she wears way too much perfume.

Examples of Fallacy of Division:

1. The 2nd grade at my elementary school buys the most popsicles at lunch. Your
brother is in 2nd grade at my school, so he must like to eat a lot of popsicles.
2. Women in the United States are paid less than men. Therefore, my mom must make
less money than my dad.
3. Americans, on average, weigh more than Europeans. So, my European cousin who is
visiting in a few weeks is going to be thinner than I am.
4. The boys in my neighborhood like to play basketball after school. So my new
neighbor, Kevin, will like to play basketball with them.
5. I just read a report about teachers not being happy with how much they are paid.
So, my Aunt Sarah who is a teacher must be unhappy with her salary.
6. Overall, the food in our lunchroom is healthy and receives high ratings from the
health department. So, the chocolate chip cookies that they are serving must be
healthy for me!