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Today’s Logical Fallacy is… False Analogy!
(apples and oranges) This fallacy occurs when two things are incorrectly compared so as to draw a false conclusion. No two scenarios or ideas are exactly the same, nor do they so different that there is nothing similar about them. Therefore, all analogies are flawed in some way because otherwise the two objects would be…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is…The Continuum Fallacy!
(Fallacy of the Beard, Line Drawing Fallacy, Bald Man Fallacy, Fallacy of the Heap, Fallacy of the Grey, the Sorites Fallacy) This fallacy occurs when someone claims that just because a concept exists on a continuum that there really is no difference between the two ideas at the ends of the continuum. A type of…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is…Straw Man!
(The Straw Person) This fallacy takes the opponents argument and restructures it, creating an extreme version that no one could possibly agree with, and then dismisses it because it is absurd. It is a fallacy because you are not actually confronting the opponent’s argument; you are claiming that it is something it isn’t and then…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is…Personal Incredulity!
(Argument from Incredulity) This fallacy occurs when someone dismisses something because they personally don’t understand it or can’t imagine how it would work. The basic level of understanding by any one person or even a majority does not dictate what is or is not false. Just because the concepts might be difficult to understand doesn’t…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is…Argument from Consequences!
(argumentum ad consequentiam, appeal to consequences of a belief, argument to the consequences) This fallacy occurs when someone argues that something cannot be true because the consequences are unacceptable (or is true because the consequences are desirable). This is a fallacy for several reasons: 1) desirability is a subjective concept; 2) it seeks to convince…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is… Balance Fallacy!
(False Balance, Argument to Moderation, Argumentum ad Temperantium, Golden Mean Fallacy, False compromise, Gray fallacy) The opposite of the false dichotomy, this fallacy occurs when someone asserts that the extremes are always wrong and the middle ground is always right or when we give equal weight and credence to both sides of an argument regardless…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is… Reductio ad absurdum!
(Appeal to Extremes, argument to absurdity, argumentum ad absurdum, reduction to the impossible) Literally translating as “reduction to absurdity,” this is actually a valid mode of argumentation if used correctly. It is used appropriately when, if the premises lead to a false conclusion, we conclude that we must then reject at least one of the…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is… One Single Proof!
(“Smoking Gun”) This fallacy occurs when someone rejects overwhelming circumstantial evidence because of the lack of a single “smoking gun” or specific proof (one that may or may not exist ) and thus declares an entire argument, belief, or position invalid. This is a very common tactic for “denialists,” individuals who deny evidence because the…