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Hasty Generalization – Drawing conclusions on the basis of insufficient evidence. (Superstitions)

Faulty Use of Authority – The attempt to bolster claims by citing the opinion of experts. (A used car salesman tells you to buy a car because he knows your neighbor.)

Post Hoc – The arguer infers that because one event follows another event, the first event must be the cause of the second event. (A rooster crows every morning at 5. Then the sun rises. The rooster’s crowing causes the sun to rise.)

Ad Hominem – “against the man” – Attack on the person rather than on the issue. (Politics/What can the priest tell us about marriage? He’s never been married himself.) Ad Hominem accusations against the person do not constitute a fallacy if the characteristics under attack are relevant to the argument.

False Dilemma/Either Or/Black or White Fallacy – Only two alternatives exist/Oversimplifying a complex problem. (In 1975, the Shah of Iran was asked why he could not introduce greater freedom into his authoritarian regime. He stated, “What’s wrong with authority? Is anarchy better?” He thought only two paths were open to him-authoritarianism or anarchy.)

Slippery Slope – Taking a first step will lead inevitably to a second, usually undesirable step. (Legalization of abortion will lead to murder of the old and the physically and mentally handicapped.) Slippery slope predictions are simplistic.

Begging the Question – Assumes the question being argued has already been proved. It avoids the real issue. The claim is simply restated. (Women should not be permitted to join men’s clubs because the clubs are for men only.)

Straw Man – An attack on a view similar to but not the same as the one your opponent holds/Changing the subject or issue.

Non Sequitur – “it does not follow” (Once rejected as preposterous! Critics called it an outrage! Yet half a million copies were sold and for 27 years it remained a bestseller.) Popularity does not mean it is credible.

Ad Populum - Makes an appeal to the prejudices of the people. Appeal to patriotism in advertising.

Appeal to Tradition – Since something has existed for a long time and has become a tradition, it should continue to exist because it is a tradition.

Red Herring – Provides irrelevant and misleading support that pulls the audience away from the real argument. (The racism of the police in the OJ Simpson trial was a red herring in the sense that even though their racism might have provided a motive for planting evidence, their racism was unrelated to whether Simpson was innocent or guilty of murder.)

Bandwagon appeal – Everyone is doing it, so you should too. (Political or public opinion polls.)

Taken from Element of Argument, Rottenberg and Perspectives on Argument, Wood.

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