Fallacy - A fallacy is a kind of error in reasoning.

Fallacies may be created unintentionally, or they may be created

intentionally in order to deceive other people.

1) Ad Hominem - This fallacy occurs when, instead of addressing someone's argument or position, you irrelevantly
attack the person or some aspect of the person who is making the argument. The fallacious attack can also be direct to
membership in a group or institution

Ex:

a) Student: Hey, Professor Moore, we shouldn't have to read this book by Freud. Everyone knows he used cocaine.

b) Socrates' arguments about human excellence are rubbish. What could a man as ugly as he know about human
excellence.

2) Argumentum ad Ignorantiam (appeal to ignorance) the fallacy that a proposition is true simply on the basis that it has
not been proved false or that it is false simply because it has not been proved true.

a) You can't prove that there aren't Martians living in caves under the surface of Mars, so it is reasonable for me to
believe there are.

b) No one can actually prove that God exists; therefore God does not exist.

3) Argumentum ad Baculum (fear of force): the fallacy committed when one appeals to force or the threat of force to
bring about the acceptance of a conclusion.

Ex:

a)  "Agree with me or I will hit you".

b) If Peter does not deny knowing Jesus, he will be arrested by the Romans.

4) Ad Novitatem (Bandwagon) is a fallacy based on the assumption that the opinion of the majority is always valid.
Argues that one must accept or reject an argument because of everyone else who accepts it or rejects it-similar to peer
pressure.

a)  Katie likes to read and would rather do that than play sports. Her friends make fun of her and tell her that reading is
for nerds. Katie stops reading so much and starts to play sports more.

b) You believe that those who receive welfare should submit to a drug test, but your friends tell you that idea is crazy
and they don't accept it. You decide to change your position based on their beliefs.

5)  Argumentum ad verecundiam (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.

Ex:

a)  Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and perhaps the foremost expert in the field, says that evolution is true.
Therefore, it's true.

b) How do I know the adult film industry is the third largest industry in the United States? Derek Shlongmiester, the
adult film star of over 50 years, said it was. That's how I know.

6)  Argumentum Ad Consequentiam (Appeal to Consequence) - Concluding that an idea or proposition is true or false
because the consequences of it being true or false are desirable or undesirable.  The fallacy lies in the fact that the
desirability is not related to the truth value of the idea or proposition.

Ex:
a)  If there is objective morality, then good moral behavior will be rewarded after death.  I want to be rewarded;
therefore, morality must be objective.

b) If there is no objective morality, then all the bad people will not be punished for their bad behavior after death.  I
don’t like that; therefore, morality must be objective.

7)  Argumentum ad crumenam (Argument to the Purse) - Concluding that the truth value of the argument is true or
false based on the financial status of the author of the argument or the money value associated with the truth.
The appeal to poverty is when the truth is assumed based on a lack of wealth whereas the appeal to wealth is when the
truth is assumed based on an excess of wealth.

a)  He's rich, so he should be the president of our Parents and Teachers Organization.

8)  Avoiding the Issue - A reasoner who is supposed to address an issue but instead goes off on a tangent is properly
accused of using the Fallacy of Avoiding the Issue. Also called missing the point, straying off the subject, digressing, and
not sticking to the issue.

a)  A city official is charged with corruption for awarding contracts to his wife's consulting firm. In speaking to a reporter
about why he is innocent, the city official talks only about his wife's conservative wardrobe, the family's lovable dog, and
his own accomplishments in supporting Little League baseball.

9) Avoiding the Question - The Fallacy of Avoiding the Question is a type of Fallacy of Avoiding the Issue that occurs
when the issue is how to answer some question. The fallacy occurs when someone's answer doesn't really respond to
the question asked. The fallacy is also called "Changing the Question."

a)  Question: Would the Oakland Athletics be in first place if they were to win tomorrow's game?

Answer: What makes you think they'll ever win tomorrow's game?

10) Ad Misericordiam (Appeal to Pity) - The attempt to distract from the truth of the conclusion by the use of pity.

a) I really deserve an “A” on this paper, professor.  Not only did I study during my grandmother’s funeral, but I also
passed up the heart transplant surgery, even though that was the first matching donor in 3 years.  

11) Ad Populom (Appeal to Popularity) - Using the popularity of a premise or proposition as evidence for its
truthfulness.  This is a fallacy which is very difficult to spot because our “common sense” tells us that if something is
popular, it must be good/true/valid, but this is not so, especially in a society where clever marketing, social and political
weight, and money can buy popularity.

Ex:

a) Everyone says that it's okay to lie as long as you don't get caught. 

b)  It might be against the law to drink when you are 18 years old, but everyone does it, so it's okay.

12) Affirming the consequent - An error in formal logic where if the consequent is said to be true, the antecedent is said
to be true, as a result.

Ex:

a) If taxes are lowered, I will have more money to spend.

I have more money to spend.

Therefore, taxes must have been lowered.

b) If it’s brown, flush it down.

I flushed it down.
Therefore, it was brown.

13) Begging the question  - a fallacy in which a claim is made and accepted to be true, but one must accept the premise
to be true for the claim to be true. This is also known as circular reasoning.

a) Everyone wants the new iPhone because it is the hottest new gadget on the market!

b) God is real because the Bible says so, and the Bible is from God.

14) 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.

Ex:

a) You are either with God or against him.

b) I thought you were a good person, but you weren’t at church today.

15) 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.

Ex:

a) We cannot unlock our child from the closet because if we do, she will want to roam the house.  If we let her roam the
house, she will want to roam the neighborhood.  If she roams the neighborhood, she will get picked up by a stranger in a
van, who will sell her in a sex slavery ring in some other country.  Therefore, we should keep her locked up in the closet.