Amiel Benedict S.

Martinez
Econ 2-2
Philo 100- Prof. Lim
February 12, 2015
Fallacies of Reasoning

FALLACY Examples from newspaper, clips, magazines,

book passages
Appeal to Authority Laws against marijuana are plain silly. Why,
Thomas Jefferson is known to have raised
hemp on his own plantation.
Appeal to Force Sir, it would be a good idea for your school to
cut the budget by 16,000. I need not remind
you that past school boards have fired principal
who cannot keep down costs.
Appeal to Popular Opinion Lots of people bought this book, so it must be
good.
Black or White Let me put it this way, You're either a genius
or an idiot. After the balloon incident,
however, I know you're no genius.
Appeal to tradition Of course we have to play "The gift" at
graduation, because that's always been the song
that is played.
Attacking the Person Don’t listen to Eddie’s arguments on
education, he’s an idiot.
Begging the Question If outsiders didn’t take my daily paper, who
did?
Accent My brother must have been fooling around on
his wife because in his letter he says, "I don't
really love her now.
Amphiboly My book on gardening says that these flowers
are to be planted only after being potted. So I
guess I’ll just wait first.
Appeal to pity I know that our salary is based on our
performance at work but please give me an
increase because my mother is in the hospital
right now and we really need money for her
medicine.
Poisoning the well Don’t copy his work; he’s stupid you will just
get the wrong answers.
Appeal to the People Really? You don’t own a car? But everyone
owns a car.
Appeal to Authority Laws against marijuana are plain silly. Why,
Thomas Jefferson is known to have raised
hemp on his own plantation.
Accident Mother: What are you doing trying to walk
around without supporter?
Daughter: What is everybody making such a
worry about? I never needed supporter before.
Guilt by association Hitler was a vegetarian; therefore, I don’t trust
vegetarians.
Accident Police officer: Are you lost? Where are your
Mom and Dad? Talk to me.
Child: I can’t talk to strangers.
Equivocation Only man is rational. No woman is a man.
Therefore, no woman is rational.
Division The bag is green therefore the cloth that made
the bag is green.
Appeal to Ignorance In spite of all the investigating that reporters
did during the Watergate scandal, no one has
found any hard evidence showing that Nixon
ordered the break in. So he didn't.
Poisoning the Well You are just a stupid kid.
Appeal to Ignorance 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.
Appeal to Authority Well, Isaac Newton believed in Alchemy, do
you think you know more than Isaac Newton?