7/30/2019 Logical Fallacies Graphic
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A logical fallacy is often what has happened when someone is
wrong about something. It's a flaw in reasoning. Strong arguments
are void of logical fallacies, whilst arguments that are weak tend
to use logical fallacies to appear stronger than they are. They're
like tricks or illusions of thought, and they're often
very sneakily used by politicians, the media, and others to fool
people. Dont be fooled! This poster has been designed to help you
identify and call out dodgy logic wherever it may raise its ugly,
incoherent head. If you see someone committing a logical fallacy
online, link them
to the relevant fallacy to school them in thinky awesomeness and
win the intellectual aections of those who happen across your
comment by appearing clever and interesting e.g.
yourlogicalfallacyis.com/strawman
This poster is published under a Creative Commons No Derivative
Works license 2012 by Jesse Richardson. You are free to print,
copy, and redistribute this artwork, including printing and selling
for profit, with the binding proviso that you reproduce it in full
so that others may share alike. This poster can be downloaded as a
high resolution pdf from the website for printing at various
sizes.
Misrepresenting someones argument to make it easier
to attack.
Byexaggerating,misrepresenting,orjust
completelyfabricatingsomeone's
argument,it'smucheasier topresent yourown positionas
beingreasonableor
valid,butthis kindof dishonestyservesto
underminerationaldebate.
AfterWillsaidthatweshouldputmoremoneyintohealthandeducation,
Warrenrespondedby sayingthathe wassurprisedthat Willhates
ourcountry
somuch thathe wantsto leaveit defencelessbycutting
militaryspending.
Cherry-picking data clusters to suit an argument, or
finding a pattern to fit a presumption.
Thisfalsecause fallacyis coinedafter amarksmanshooting atbarns
andthen
paintingbullseyetargetsaround thespot wherethe mostbullet
holesappear.
Clustersnaturallyappearby chance,anddont
necessarilyindicatecausation.
Themakersof SugaretteCandyDrinkspointtoresearchshowingthatof
the
fivecountrieswhereSugarettedrinkssellthemostunits,threeofthemarein
thetop tenhealthiestcountries onEarth,
thereforeSugarettedrinksare healthy.
Attacking your opponents character or personal traits
instead of engaging with their argument.
Adhominem attackscantake theform ofovertly
attackingsomebody,ormore
subtlycastingdoubtontheircharacter.Theresultofanad
homattackcanbetoundermine someonewithoutactually havingtoengage
withtheir argument.
AfterSally presentsaneloquent andcompellingcase fora
moreequitable
taxationsystem,Samasks theaudiencewhether weshould
believeanything
fromawomanwhoisntmarried,wasoncearrested,andsmellsa
bitweird.
Asking a question that has an assumption built into it so
that it cant be answered without appearing guilty.
Loadedquestionfallaciesare
particularlyeectiveatderailingrational debates
becauseoftheirinflammatorynature-therecipientof
theloadedquestioniscompelledtodefend themselvesandmay
appearflusteredor onthe backfoot.
GraceandHelen wereboth romanticallyinterestedinBrad. Oneday,with
Brad
sittingwithinearshot, Graceaskedin aninquisitivetone
whetherHelen washavinganyproblemswith adrug habit.
Believing that runs occur to statistically independent
phenomena such as roulette wheel spins.
Thiscommonlybelievedfallacycanbe fairlysaidto
havecreatedanentire cityin
thedesertof NevadaUSA.Thoughthe overalloddsof abigrun
happeningmay
below,each spinof thewheelis itselfentirelyindependentfromthe
last.
Redhadcomeupsixtimesinarowon
theroulettewheel,soGregknewthatit
wascloseto
certainthatblackwouldbenextup.Sueringaneconomicform
ofnaturalselectionwiththisthinking,hesoonlostallofhissavings.
Appealing to popularity or the fact that many people do
something as an attempted form of validation.
Theflawinthisargumentisthatthepopularityofanideahasabsolutelyno
bearingonitsvalidity.Ifitdid,thentheEarthwouldhavemadeitselfflatfor
mostof historyto accommodatepeoplespopular belief.
Shamuspointeda drunkenfingeratSeanandaskedhimto explainhowso
manypeoplecould believein leprechaunsiftheyre onlya sillyold
superstition.
Sean,however,hadhadafewtoomanyGuinnesshimselfandfellohischair.
Where two alternative states are presented as the only
possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist.
Alsoknown asthe falsedilemma,this insidioustactichas
theappearanceof
forminga logicalargument,butunder closerscrutinyit
becomesevidentthat
thereare morepossibilitiesthan theeither/or choicethatis
presented.
Whilstrallyingsupportfor hisplan
tofundamentallyunderminecitizens rights,
theSupremeLeadertoldthepeopletheywereeitheronhisside,oron
theside
oftheenemy.
A circular argument in which the conclusion is included
in the premise.
Thislogicallyincoherent argumentoftenarises insituations
wherepeoplehave
anassumptionthatis
veryingrained,andthereforetakenintheirmindsasa
given.Circularreasoningis badmostlybecause itsnot verygood.
ThewordofZorbotheGreatisflawlessandperfect.Weknowthisbecauseit
sayssoinTheGreatandInfallibleBookofZorbosBestandMostTruestThings
thatareDefinitelyTrueandShouldNotEverBeQuestioned.
Using the opinion or position of an authority figure, or
institution of authority, in place of an actual argument.
Muchof thetime expertshavebetter
informationandunderstandingthan
others,but holdinga positionof authoritydoesn'tnecessarilymean
that
someoneisright.Afterall,thehighestmedicalauthoritiesusedtothinkthatbleedingpeoplewas
agood generalcurefor sickness.
NotabletodefendhispositionthatevolutionisnttrueBobsaysthatheknows
ascientist whoalso questionsevolution(and presumablyisnta
primate).
Making the argument that because something is natural
it is therefore valid, justified, inevitable, or ideal.
Justbecausesomething isnatural doesntmeanits good.For
instancemurder
isnatural,butmostofus
agreethatwedon'tthinkit'saverygoodthingtobe
doing,nor doesits 'naturalness'constituteanykind
ofjustificationfor it.
Themedicine manrolled intotown onhis
bandwagonoeringvariousnatural
remedies,suchasveryspecialplainwater.Hesaidthatitwasonlynaturalthat
peopleshould bewary ofartificialmedicinessuch asantibiotics.
Assuming that whats true about one part of something
has to be applied to all, or other, parts of it.
Oftenwhensomethingistrueforthepartit
doesalsoapplytothewhole,but
becausethisisntalwaysthecaseit cantbepresumedtobetrue.Wemust
showevidencefor whya consistencywillexist.
Danielwasaprecociouschildandhadalikingforlogic.Hereasonedthat
atomsareinvisible,andthathewasmadeofatomsandthereforeinvisibletoo.
Unfortunately,despitehisthinkyskills,helostthegameofhideandgo
seek.
Using personal experience or an isolated example instead
of a valid argument, especially to dismiss statistics.
Itsoften mucheasierfor peopleto believesomeonestestimonyas
opposedto
understandingvariationacrossa
continuum.Quantitativescientificmeasures
arealmostalways moreaccuratethan
individualperceptionsandexperiences.
Jasonsaid thatthatwas allcool andeverything,but
hisgrandfathersmoked,
like,30cigarettesa dayandliveduntil97-
sodontbelieveeverythingyouread
aboutmetaanalyses ofsound studiesshowingproven
causalrelationships.
Making what could be called an appeal to purity as a way
to dismiss relevant criticisms or flaws of an argument.
Inthis formof faultyreasoningonesbelief isrendered
unfalsifiablebecauseno
matterhow compellingtheevidence is,one simplyshiftsthe
goalpostssothat
itwouldntapply toa supposedlytrueexample.
AngusdeclaresthatScotsmendonotputsugarontheirporridge,towhich
Lachlanpointsoutthatheis aScotsmanandputssugaronhisporridge.
Furious,likeatrueScot,Angusyellsthatno true Scotsmansugarshis
porridge.
Saying that a compromise, or middle point, between two
extremes is the truth.
Muchofthetimethetruthdoesindeedliebetweentwoextremepoints,butthis
canbiasour thinking:sometimesathing issimplyuntrue anda
compromiseof
itisalsountrue.Halfwaybetweentruthandalie,isstillalie.
Hollysaidthat vaccinationscausedautism inchildren,but
herscientifically
well-readfriendCalebsaid thatthisclaim hadbeendebunked
andprovenfalse.
Theirfriend Aliceoereda
compromisethatvaccinationscausesomeautism.
Judging something good or bad on the basis of where it
comes from, or from whom it comes.
Toappealto prejudicessurroundingsomethingsoriginis anotherred
herring
fallacy.Thisfallacyhas thesame functionas anad
hominem,butapplies
insteadtoperceptions surroundingsomethingssourceor context.
Accusedonthe 6oclocknews ofcorruption andtakingbribes,the
senatorsaid
thatweshouldallbeverywaryofthethingswehearinthemedia,becausewe
allknowhow veryunreliablethe mediacanbe.
Using double meanings or ambiguities of language to
mislead or misrepresent the truth.
Politiciansareoftenguiltyof
usingambiguitytomisleadandwilllaterpointto
howtheyweretechnicallynotoutrightlyingiftheycomeunderscrutiny.Itsa
particularlytrickyandpremeditatedfallacyto commit.
Whenthejudge askedthedefendantwhy hehadn'tpaid hisparkingfines,
hesaidthathe shouldn'thavetopay thembecausethe signsaid'Fine
forparking
here'andsohe naturallypresumedthatitwouldbefinetoparkthere.
Presuming that a real or perceived relationship between
things means that one is the cause of the other.
Manypeopleconfuse correlation(thingshappeningtogether orin
sequence)
forcausation(that onething actuallycausesthe otherto
happen).Sometimes
correlationis coincidental,orit maybe attributableto acommon
cause.
Pointingto afancy chart,Rogershows howtemperatureshavebeen
risingover
thepastfewcenturies,whilstatthesametimethenumbersofpirateshave
beendecreasing;thus piratescoolthe worldand globalwarmingis
ahoax.
Presuming that because a claim has been poorly argued,
or a fallacy has been made, that it is necessarily wrong.
Thereare fewthings morefrustratingthan watchingsomeonepoorly
arguea
positiononeholds.Muchof
thetimeadebateiswonnotbecausethevictorisright,butbecause s/heis
betterat debatingthantheir opponent.
RecognisingthatAmandahad committedafallacy inarguingthat
weshould
eathealthyfood becauseit waspopular,Alyse resolvedto
eatbacondoublecheeseburgerseveryday.
Manipulating an emotional response in place of a valid or
compelling argument.
Appealsto emotionincludeappeals tofear,
envy,hatred,pity,pride,and more.
Thougha validargumentmaysometimes havean emotionalaspect,one
mustbecareful thatemotion doesntreplacesensiblelogic.
Lukedidntwant toeat hissheepsbrains withchoppedliver
andbrussels
sprouts,buthisfathertoldhimtothinkaboutthepoor,starvingchildrenin
athirdworldcountrywhowerentfortunateenoughtohaveanyfoodatall.
Avoiding having to engage with criticism by turning it
back on the accuser - answering criticism with criticism.
Literallytranslatingasyou toothis fallacyiscommonly
employedasaneectiveredherringbecauseittakestheheatotheaccusedhavingtodefend
themselvesandshifts thefocus backonto theaccuser themselves.
Theblue candidateaccusedthe redcandidateofcommittingthe
tuquoquefallacy.Theredcandidaterespondedbyaccusingthe
bluecandidateofthe same,
afterwhichensuedan hourof backandforth criticismwithnotmuch
progress.
Saying that the burden of proof lies not with the person
making the claim, but with someone else to disprove.
Theburdenof prooflieswithsomeonewhoismakingaclaim,andisnot
upon
anyoneelse todisprove.The inability,ordisinclination,to
disproveaclaim does
notmakeitvalid(howeverwemustalwaysgobythe
bestavailableevidence).
Bertranddeclaresthatateapotis,atthisverymoment,inorbitaroundtheSunbetweentheEarthandMars,andthatbecausenoone
canprovehimwrong
hisclaimisthereforeavalidone.
Saying that because one finds something dicult to
understand that its therefore not true.
Complexsubjectslikebiological evolutionthroughnaturalselection
requiresomeamountofunderstandingofhowtheyworkbeforeoneisableto
properlygraspthem;this fallacyisusually usedin placeof
thatunderstanding.
Kirkdrewapictureofafishanda
humanandwitheusivedisdainaskedRichardifhereallythoughtwewerestupidenoughtobelievethatafishsomehow
turnedintoa humanthroughjust,like,
randomthingshappeningovertime.
Moving the goalposts or making up exceptions when a
claim is shown to be false.
Humansarefunny creaturesandhave afoolish aversionto
beingwrong.
Ratherthanappreciatethe benefitsof beingableto changeonesmind
throughbetterunderstanding,manywill inventwaysto clingto
oldbeliefs.
EdwardJohnsclaimedto bepsychic,but whenhis
abilitiesweretestedunder
properscientificconditions,they magicallydisappeared.Edward
explainedthissayingthatonehadtohavefaithinhisabilitiesforthemtowork.
Asserting that if we allow A to happen, then Z will
consequently happen too, therefore A should not happen.
Theproblemwiththisreasoningisthatitavoidsengagingwiththeissueat
hand,andinstead shiftsattentionto
baselessextremehypotheticals.The meritsofthe originalargumentare
thentaintedby unsubstantiatedconjecture.
ColinClosetassertsthatifweallowsame-sexcouplestomarry,thenthenext
thingweknowwellbeallowingpeopletomarrytheirparents,theircarsand
evenmonkeys.
