Fallacies in Literature

Ad Hominem: A common fallacy that has an irrelevant impact in the argument. The Latin
term ad hominem means literally “to the man.” Therefore, the definition of the full term
argumentum ad hominem means bringing the argument to the person, rather than the
argument itself. Example: He doesn’t have the credibility to become the president because he
has a bad accent.
Appeal to doubtful authority: a common type of fallacy, or an argument based
on unsound logic. When writers or speakers use appeal to authority, they are claiming that
something must be true because it is believed by someone who said to be an "authority" on the
subject. Example: Mike said that the train would be late.
False Analogy: an informal fallacy. It applies to inductive arguments. It is an informal fallacy
because the error is about what the argument is about, and not the argument itself.
An analogy proposes that two concepts which are similar (A and B) have a common relationship
to some property. Example: Faith is like WiFi. It’s invisible, but it has the power to connect you
to what you need.
Circular Reasoning: a logical fallacy in which the one who reasons begins with what they are
trying to end with. The components of a circular argument are often logically valid because if
the premises are true, the conclusion must be true. Example: They can’t win because I’m not
voting for them. / I’m not voting for them because they can’t win.
False Dilemma: a type of informal fallacy in which something is falsely claimed to be an
"either/or" situation, when in fact there is at least one additional option. A false dilemma can
arise intentionally, when a fallacy is used in an attempt to force a choice or outcome. Example:
You either believe the religion or just not learn about it.
Equivocation: occurs when a key term or phrase in an argument is used in an ambiguous way,
with one meaning in one portion of the argument and then another meaning in another portion
of the argument. Example: All humans have the ability to jump, and rabbits also can jump,
therefore all humans are rabbits.
Hasty generalization: an informal fallacy of faulty generalization by reaching an
inductive generalization based on insufficient evidence—essentially making a rushed conclusion
without considering all of the variables. Example: All Asians I’ve seen are yellow, so that makes
every Asian yellow.
Stereotyping: an over-generalized belief about a particular category of people. Stereotypes are
generalized because one assumes that the stereotype is true for each individual person in the
category. Example: Girls are physically weaker than boys, so that makes them bad at sports.
Misleading Statistic: When someone uses a small number of dramatic events to claim that
something is more prevalent than it actually is based on statistics, they have
used misleading vividness. Example: More than 80% dentists recommend Colgate.
Non sequitur: Where the conclusion does not follow from the premises. In more informal
reasoning, it can be when what is presented as evidence or reason is irrelevant or adds very
little support to the conclusion. Example: People generally like to walk on the beach. Beaches
have sand. Therefore, having sand floors in homes would be a great idea!
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc: (Latin: "after this, therefore because of this") is a logical fallacy that
states "Since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X." It is often
shortened simply to post hoc fallacy. Example: If I walk for a long time my legs hurt, so if my
legs don’t hurt I don’t walk for a long time.
Red Herring: a kind of fallacy that is an irrelevant topic introduced in an argument to divert the
attention of listeners or readers from the original issue. In literature, this fallacy is often used in
detective or suspense novels to mislead readers or characters, or to induce them to make false
conclusions. Example: I am under house arrest because I had a fight with my sibling. I broke my
arm last week so my sibling shouldn’t have hurt me.
Straw-man argument: a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving
the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while actually refuting an argument that
was not presented by that opponent. Example: Person A: I need to see today at 4 PM. Person B:
I have a really bad headache can I go to sleep.
Tu Quoque: (Latin for "you also"), or the appeal to hypocrisy, is a fallacy that intends to
discredit the opponent's argument by asserting the opponent's failure to act consistently in
accordance with its conclusion(s). Example: My dad smokes, so I won’t listen to him when he
tells me to stop smoking.
Slippery Slope: a specific type of logical fallacy. A logical fallacy is a flawed argument. Slippery
slope is one example of a fallacy. It is an argument that suggests taking a minor action will lead
to major and sometimes ludicrous consequences. Example: