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.
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