Logically Fallacious Resources
Common logical fallacies worth learning first
Some fallacies appear constantly in debates, politics, advertising, family arguments, and online discussions. Learning these first gives you a practical foundation.
Start with recurring patterns
The most useful first step is recognizing patterns that show up everywhere: attacking the person, misrepresenting a position, forcing a false choice, or treating weak authority as proof.
Do not stop at labels
Naming a fallacy is only the start. The real work is explaining why the reasoning does not establish the conclusion.
Related fallacies
See all fallaciesStrawman Fallacy
Substituting a person’s actual position or argument with a distorted, exaggerated, or misrepresented version of the position of the argument.
Ad Hominem (Abusive)
Attacking the person making the argument, rather than the argument itself, when the attack on the person is completely irrelevant to the argument the person is making.
Slippery Slope
When a relatively insignificant first event is suggested to lead to a more significant event, which in turn leads to a more significant event, and so on, until some ultimate, significant event is reached, where the connection of each event is not only unwarranted but with each step it becomes more and more improbable. Many events are usually present in this fallacy, but only two are actually required -- usually connected by “the next thing you know...”
False Dilemma
When only two choices are presented yet more exist, or a spectrum of possible choices exists between two extremes. False dilemmas are usually characterized by “either this or that” language, but can also be characterized by omissions of choices. Another variety is the false trilemma, which is when three choices are presented when more exist.
Appeal to Authority
Insisting that a claim is true simply because a valid authority or expert on the issue said it was true, without any other supporting evidence offered. Also see the appeal to false authority.
Appeal to Pity
The attempt to distract from the truth of the conclusion by the use of pity.