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Today’s Logical Fallacy is…. Appeal to Tradition!
(“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” argumentum ad antiquitatem, Appeal to Antiquity, Appeal to Common Practice, Appeal to the Old, Old Ways are Best, Fallacious Appeal to the Past, Appeal to Age, Proof from Tradition, Appeal to Past Practice, opposite of “Appeal to Innovation”) This fallacy is based on the argument that an idea,…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is… Appeal to Nature!
This fallacy stems from the idea that just because something is “natural” means that it is good, valid, justified, inevitable, or ideal. While many “natural” things are “good,” that doesn’t mean that all natural things are good and all unnatural things are bad. For example, infanticide is “natural;” that doesn’t mean it should be considered…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is… Red Herring!
(Ignoratio Elenchi, Ignorance of Refutation, beside the point, misdirection, changing the subject, false emphasis, the Chewbacca defense, irrelevant conclusion, irrelevant thesis, smokescreen, clouding the issue, judgmental language, fallacy of distraction) This fallacy occurs when someone uses an irrelevant distraction, intentionally or unintentionally, to divert or mislead an audience. We most often recognize this as “changing…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is… Anecdotal Fallacy!
[the “I know a person who” fallacy] This logical fallacy is committed when someone rejects or discounts extensive evidence in favor of an isolated or personal experience. This is often used as the basis for the overgeneralization fallacy and is linked to the Post hoc ergo propter hoc (correlation/causation) fallacy, a fallacy that assumes a…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is… Association Fallacy!
(They’re Not Like Us, Guilt by Association, Honor by Association, a variety of the Ad Hominem and Hasty Generalization) This fallacy occurs when someone’s argument or position is dismissed (or upheld) because of the group to which that person belongs. Often referred to as the “They’re Not Like Us” fallacy, this is the basis for…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is… Complex Question!
(fallacy of presupposition, trick question, fallacy of many questions, loaded question, leading question, presumption of guilt, false question, plurium interrogationum) A complex question is a rhetorical technique that poses a question that contains assumptions. It is a fallacy when the assumptions are unjustified or when the question is worded in such a way as to…
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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…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is… Ad Hominem!
(personal attack, poisoning the well, Guilt By Association, Damning the Source, a type of genetic fallacy) Latin for “to the man,” this fallacy occurs when, in an attempt to undermine or dismiss your opponent’s argument, you attack their personal character instead the validity of the evidence. This is a fallacy because the validity of an…
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Today’s Logical Fallacy is… Blind Loyalty!
(the Nuremberg Defense, Blind Obedience, the “Team Player” appeal, Argument from Inertia, Appeal to Loyalty) This very dangerous fallacy occurs when an argument or action is deemed acceptable or correct because an authority figure (parent, boss, commanding officer, adult, coach, etc.) says so. Instead of examining whether or not the idea or order is ethical, reasonable, or…