| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Ad Hominem | "To the man" argument that criticizes an idea by pointing something out about the person who holds the idea, rather than directly addressing the actual merit of the idea. "You're wrong because you're a jerk." Or, "Of course that writers supports gun control; she's a Democrat!" |
| Argument from False Authority | Tempts us to agree with the writer's assumptions based on the authority of a famous person or entity or on his or her own character (when the writers are well known) "This is absolutely awesome - it's the best review book ever written." -Shakira |
| Appeal to Ignorance | Based on the assumption that whatever has not been proven false must be true (or, similarly, whatever has not been proven true must be false) ("No one can prove the existence of the Loch Ness Monster; therefore it exists." Or, "No one can prove that the Loch-Ness monster exists, therefore the Loch-Ness monster does not exist.) |
| Begging the Question | Form of argument in which someone assumes that parts (or all) of what the person claims to be proving are proven facts. (This does not refer to incomplete or illogical statements that actually would prompt someone to ask a question.) |
| Hasty Generalization | Deliberately leading to a conclusion by providing insufficient, selective evidence.( "Ping-pong is a dangerous sport; my friend got hit in the eye with the ball and almost lost her vision in that eye.") |
| Non-Sequitur | "It doesn't follow". A statement that does not relate logically to what comes before it. There is no logical connection between the initial phrase and the one that follows it. "If you really watned to earn a 5 on the AP English test, you wouldn't spend so much time reading Isabella Allende's novels." |
| False Dichotomy | Consists of a consideration of only the two extremes when there are one or more intermediate possibilities. ("AP calculus BC class in impossible; either you get it or you don't) |
| Slippery Slope | Suggest dire consequences from relatively minor causes. "If we stop requiring men to wear coats and ties in the dining room, pretty soon they'll start coming in dressed in beach-wear." Or, "Give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile." |
| Faulty Causality | Refers to the (sometimes unintentional) setting up of a cause-and-effect relationship when none exists. One event can happen after another without the first necessarily being the direct cause of the second. "Violent crime among adolescents has risen int he past decade, and that is the result of increased sales of violent video games." |
| Straw Man Argument | An oversimplification of an opponent's argument so it is easier to attack. |
| Sentimental Appeals | Attempts to appeal to the hearts of readers/listeners so that they forget to use their minds. Not a valid argument, but it works sometimes. |
| Red Herring | Attempts to shift attention away from an important issue by introducing an issue that has no logical connection to the discussion at hand. Similar to a sentimental appeal, but the speaker is still appealing to minds rather than sentiments. |
| Scare Tactics | Used to frighten readers/listeners into agreeing with the speaker. The speakers usually has no logical argument on which to fall back. |
| Bandwagon Appeals | Otherwise known as peer pressure, this type of argument encourages the listener to agree with a position because everyone else does. "If everyone else is doing it, it must be alright." The speaker usually tries to avoid having to explain the merits of the issue and explain why the ban is inappropriate. |
| Dogmatism | Does not allow for discussion because the speakers presumes that his or her beliefs are beyond question; essentially, the "logic" is, "I'm correct because I'm correct." "We are members of the Wombat party and, as such, know that we are right when we assert that Wombats are the best!" |
| Equivocation | Telling only party of the truth while deliberately hiding the entire truth; typically this is similar to lying by omission. |
| Faulty Analogy | An illogical, misleading comparison between two things. "Why should we invade that country? Let me explain ti to you like this. What if you looked out the window and saw a 20 dollar bill in the street? Wouldn't you go outside and take it?" The better analogy would be," What if you saw a person in the street with a 20 dollar bill? Wouldn't you go outside and try to steal it from the person?" Analogy is always a weak form of argumentation. |
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