Dr. Heather Ashley Hayes, Whitman College Department of Rhetoric: [email protected] #LogicalFallacy List
Team Rhetoric Debate Watch Events
Fall 2016
Feel free to also use #trdw (Team Rhetoric Debate Watch) as you and/or your students tweet about
the presidential and vice presidential debate(s).
Appeal to Authority
#Authority
A speaker claims an argument or point can be deemed to be true because of the position or
authority of the person making the claim (often themselves). Example: As President of the United
States, I can tell you that Russia will not act to support Syrian uprisings.
Appeal to Force
#AdBac
A speaker uses force, intimidation, or threat of force/negative consequences against an
audience to make the audience accept their conclusion. Example: Superintendent, you should cut the
school budget by $5,000. Should I remind you that past school boards have fired superintendents
who cannot keep down costs?
Argumentum Ad Hominem
#AdHom
A speaker evades the actual topic of discussion, or the specific question they’ve been asked,
by directing an attack at their opponent. Example: She’s a crook so you can’t believe anything she
says.
Argumentum Ad Ignorantium
#AdIgnor
A speaker assumes a claim is true because is has not been, or cannot be, directly disproven.
Example: Scientists were never around to see whether humans evolved from other creatures, so
they’re never going to be able to prove it.
Argumentum Ad Populum
#AdPop
A speaker uses an appeal to arouse feelings and enthusiasm of the populus rather than
building an argument with clear warrants and impacts; often these can involve appeals to patriotism.
Example: A true American knows that beer is the national drink.
Bandwagon
#Bandwagon
A speaker argues that a position is worthy to take because lots of other people take that
position. Example: Polls show that 75% of Americans think Barack Obama is dishonest. It’s clear
that he’s dishonest.
Begging the Question
#BegtheQ
A speaker offers the conclusion of an argument as the premise of the argument. Example: Of
course smoking causes cancer. The smoke from cigarettes is a carcinogen.
Cherry Picking
#CherryPick
A speaker points at individual cases or data that seem to confirm a particular position, while
ignoring a significant portion of related cases or data that may contradict that position. In other
words, a speaker chooses only to offer the data or cases that best support their position and ignore
other data that may not support their position. Example: I am significantly ahead of my opponent in
the national polls. This one poll from the New York Times proves it.
Dr. Heather Ashley Hayes, Whitman College Department of Rhetoric: [email protected] False Dilemma
#FalseDilem
A speaker holds two alternative statements as the only possible options, when in reality
there are more than two options. Example: Iran is either with us or against us when it comes to our
terrorism policy.
False Equivalence
#FalseEquiv
A speaker equivocates two situations or logics when in fact there is no connection between
the two situations or logics. Example: Guns may kill people but automobiles kill people too. If we’re
going to regulate guns we should regulate cars as well.
Hasty Generalization
#HastyG
A speaker bases a broad conclusion on a small sample. Example: Jenny and John failed
Organic Chemistry. As a result, I know everyone fails Organic Chemistry.
Paralipsis
#Paralipsis
Paralipsis is from the Greek word “paraleipein.” The speaker will introduce a topic or
argument by saying he doesn’t want to talk about it; in truth, he or she wants to emphasize that very
thing. Example: I’m not saying that he drinks more coffee than anyone else in the office, but every
time I go to the break room, he’s in there.
Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
#PostHoc
Latin for "after this, therefore because of this" (faulty cause/effect or correlation without
causation) – A speaker claims that X happened, then Y happened; therefore X caused Y. Example:
A black cat crossed my path at noon. An hour later, my mother had a heart attack. I knew black cats
were bad luck!
Red Herring
#RedHerring
A speaker attempts to distract an audience from the question or point at hand by introducing
a separate, unrelated argument the speaker believes is easier to speak to or supports their own
agenda. Example: I should not pay a fine for reckless driving. There are people on the street who
are dangerous criminals and rapists, and the police should be chasing them, not harassing a decent
citizen like me.
Straw Man
#StrawMan
A speaker makes an argument based on a misunderstanding of their opponent’s position.
Example: My opponent says that we should not fund the U.S. armed drone program. I disagree
entirely. I can't understand why she wants to leave the United States defenseless.
Slippery Slope
#SlipSlope
A speaker asserts that a relatively small first step inevitably leads to a chain of related events
culminating in some significant impact/event that should not happen, thus the speaker argues that
the first step should not happen. Example: If we close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, the next thing
you know, terrorists will be crossing freely into the United States from all around the world.