Arguments are the claims supported by the reasons, and when it comes to arguments, it must be logically correct. The error or flaw in the argument is called a logical fallacy. It undermines the logical validity of the arguments- making the argument invalid. Often human conversations, and information over the internet, contain a lot of logical fallacies. And sometimes, it isn’t easy to spot them.
So understanding these common logical fallacies can help you build better and compelling arguments avoiding logical fallacies. In this article, we’ll share the 20 common logical fallacies and how to spot them.
1. Ad Hominem Fallacy
The Ad Hominem Fallacy occurs when the opposition party attacks a person making the argument. It means against the person; it refers to an attack on the person rather than on argument.
For example, when a journalist asked a question to a politician, the politician, instead of replying to the argument, passes a verbal attack to the journalist.
2. Appeal to Authority Fallacy
The Appeal to Authority Fallacy occurs when a person cites an opinion of an authority figure to support the argument without any actual evidence. Still, the authority cited in support of the claim is not an expert (qualified enough) to be the authority for the topic at hand.
For example, Sam says, “God does not exist, because Stephen Hawking once said God does not exist in an interview.”
This argument is fallacious because Stephen Hawking is a prominent figure in the field of Physics, not in Theology or Philosophy. Therefore, the authority of Stephen Hawking is not enough to claim that God does not exist.
3. Appeal to Emotion Fallacy
The Appeal to Emotion Fallacy occurs when a person attempts to win the argument through emotion without using facts, reason, or logic.
For example, Sam did not want to eat his favorite goat’s meat, but his dad told him that you are fortunate enough to have a great dinner on your plate; many people in this world do not get any food at all and die by starving.
4: Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy
The Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy occurs when a person claims that something is true because it has not been proven false or something is false because it has not been proven true.
For example, Aliens exist because it has not been proved that it does not exist. Therefore, it exists.
Or God does not exist because nobody could prove that God exists.
The argument is fallacious because the lack of proof is not evidence for or against the argument.
5: Bandwagon Fallacy
The Bandwagon Fallacy assumes that something is right because the majority of people believe it to be true. But it does not mean that the argument is valid, even if most people agree with it.
For example, just because many people believe that Earth is flat, it does not make it logically valid. However, many people believe it is true, thinking that the majority of people cannot be stupid.
Also, the Bandwagon fallacy which assumes the popularity of a belief as a validity of the belief is different from the Bandwagon Effect, which describes that people join the growing movement when it is becoming successful – jumping on the bandwagon.
6: Causal Fallacy
The Causal Fallacy arises when you correlate a specific event with other events occurring simultaneously, which in reality, the events are independent. I.e., the events which appears to be correlated, but it’s not.
For example, Jenny says to Henry whenever there is a sunny day outside; I always ace the exam. Henry says a sunny day outside is just a coincidence; it has no relation with the causation of your acing the exam. You ace the exam because you study hard for the exams every time.
7: Circular Reasoning
In Circular reasoning, it is an attempt to support the argument by restating the argument. In other words, when you begin the argument with the assumption, you are trying to prove. It is also known as Begging the question,
For example, A is true because B is true.
B is true because A is true
I.e., a person says that he cannot see the air because it is invisible. And the air is invisible because he cannot see it.
8: Post hoc ergo propter hoc (post hoc fallacy)
The Post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy arises when an event follows another event. Just because the event happens first, it must have caused another event.
For example, A is followed by B, so A must have caused B.
I.e., after consuming the Ice cream, you fall ill. You may think that Ice cream must have caused you ill. However, the cause of illness might be due to some other reasons.
9: Either-Or Fallacy
It is also known as False Dichotomy or black-or-white fallacy.
Either or Fallacy occurs when a person tries to show that there are only two alternatives, which in reality, there are many options.
For example, Either Turn to Jesus. Or burn in Hell.
Another example, Either stop using cars. Or destroy the Earth.
10: Equivocation
The Equivocation fallacy occurs when a double-sided or ambiguous claim is presented to mislead or misrepresent the truth.
For example, when a policeman asked the citizen, even when the sign shows a fine for parking here, why did you park your car. The citizen said he thought it says it is fine to park here. That’s why I parked my car.
11: Fallacy of Composition
This fallacy arises when something is true in parts, it must be true as a whole.
For example, if some departments are doing exceptionally great in a university, it does not mean all the university departments are doing great. Thus, the whole university is doing great.
12: Fallacy of Division
This fallacy arises when something is true in whole. It must be true in parts.
For example, X has the property of A. Therefore, all the parts of X have a property of A. So, it’s a fallacy.
Another example, if a specific country is the wealthiest country globally, then it does not mean that every citizen of that country is wealthy.
13: Gambler Fallacy
The Gambler Fallacy occurs when the past events influence the future event, which in reality, any random event is an independent event and has no relation to past events.
For example, suppose you tossed a coin ten times, each time getting head. By the next time, you may think that the next toss would be tail for sure. Then you are committing the Gambler Fallacy. Because the outcome of a coin, to land head or tail is an independent event, and it has no relation to past events.
And, for getting a head or tail, the probability of both events to happen is equal, and it’s 1/2.
14: Genetic Fallacy
This Fallacy is based on an argument that the origin of an idea, institute, person, or theory determines its character, nature, or worth.
For example, a successful middle east developer got a job in silicon valley, but he is a terrorist because he came from a country that supports terrorism.
This argument is fallacious because even being from a middle east country does not mean that the developer is a terrorist.
15: Hasty Generalisation Fallacy
The Hasty Generalisation Fallacy occurs when you conclude without considering all the facts.
In other words, seeing the small sample of the population and making generalisations for the whole population.
Just because some people from a community are terrorists, you label the entire community as a community of terrorists.
16: Loaded Question Fallacy
It is a logical fallacy in which the assumption is already built in the question. And whatever you say in support or against, the conclusion would always be as per the assumption.
For example, have you always been an Alcoholic?
Another example, Why are you so lazy? or Have you stopped beating your sister?
17: Red Herring Fallacy
A Red Herring fallacy occurs when you use a somewhat related topic to divert the attention away from the original argument.
In other words, when someone is making an argument, the opponent uses ad hominem, straw man, and other things to divert the attention from the original argument.
For example, a student asked the teacher a question about climate change. The teacher introduced something and explained about Globalisation and Deglobalisation.
18: Straw man Fallacy
The Straw Man Fallacy occurs when a person weakens the argument by disregarding the evidence. The original argument is replaced with an oversimplified version; then, the simplified version is attacked.
For example, when the ruling party representative said we should allocate more money in the Health and Education sector in a Parliamentary discussion. The opposition replied that they are surprised that you hate our country so much that you want to leave it defenceless by cutting military spending.
19: Sunk Cost Fallacy
This Sunk Cost Fallacy occurs when a person is on the verge of failure or had many failure experiences, and the possibility of winning let the person keep investing than quit or change the course of life.
For example, after losing a lot of money in gambling, a gambler still wants to do gambling in the hope of winning back what he lost rather than quitting gambling.
20: Slippery Slope Fallacy
The Slippery Slope Fallacy occurs when a person claims that one small step will lead to a chain of events resulting in some significant event. It is also known as Fear mongering.
As if A happens, then unwanted X can happen through a cascade of events, B, C, D…Y, X. So to avoid the x event, A should not happen in the first place.
For example, if you don’t study on weekends, your grades will suffer. If your grades suffer, you won’t graduate or graduate with low grades. Which means you won’t get a good job. Since you do not have a good job, you will have to live on the streets. So by not studying on the weekends would result in being homeless.
The problem is that it consists of many hypotheticals with no proof to support the argument.
Conclusion
By now, you must have understood the 20 common logical fallacies, and how to spot them. Also, how to make the arguments avoiding logical fallacies.