Fallacy

1. Argumentum ad Baculum or the

Appeal to force - this uses moral,
psychological, cultural or physical
pressure/threat instead of reason in
its argument.

Example: Since I am the boss, you

must vote for my candidate or else I
will fire you from your job.
2. Argumentum ad misericordiam
or the appeal to pity - when
compassion or pity is being used
to obscure the issue.

Example: We should not fail poor

students for they may not acquire
the education that will help them
overcome their poverty
3. Argumentum ad verecundiam or the
appeal to authority - an appeal that is
claiming that something must be true
because it is believed by someone who
said to be an "authority" on the subject.
Example: A commercial claims that a
specific brand of cereal is the best way
to start the day because athlete Michael
Jordan says that it is what he eats every
day for breakfast.
4. Argumentum ad hominem or
appeal to the person - when then
personality of the opponent is
attacked when it has nothing to
do with the issue.

Example: Don’t believe what

Martha said on education, she
was not even a graduate of PNU.
5. Argumentum ad ignorantiam or
the appeal to ignorance - when the
truth or falsity of an issue is
asserted because no one can offer
proof of its contradictory.

Example: He was not guilty since

no one saw him commit the crime.
6. Argumentum ad Antiquitatem or the
appeal to tradition - Using historical
preferences of the people (tradition),
either in general or as specific as the
historical preferences of a single
individual, as evidence that the historical
preference is correct.

Example: Church should begin at 11am

because that's the time that we have
always begun the church service.
7. Argumentum ad nauseam
(argument to the point of disgust;
i.e., by repetition) - this is the fallacy
of trying to prove something by
saying it again and again.

Example: Tell 'em what you're gonna

tell 'em, then tell 'em, and then tell
'em what you told 'em.
8. Circular reasoning or Circular
Argument - occurs when the end of
an argument comes back to the
beginning without having proven
itself.
Example: The Bible is true, so you
should not doubt the Word of God.
You must obey the law, because it’s
illegal to break the law.
9. Argumentum ad populum or the
appeal to people - When the popular
sentiments of the majority or those
that counts are made the basis of
the conclusion. This makes use of
the bandwagon argument.

Example: Slavery is right because

most people own slaves.
10. Hasty Generalization (over-
generalization) - When the
argument concludes even if there
is insufficient data to establish a
valid sequence when what is true
to a few is made true to all.

Example: Since I saw them

together then they must be lovers
11. Argumentum ad numerum or
argument or appeal to numbers -
This fallacy is the attempt to prove
something by showing how many
people think that it's true.

Example: At least 70% of all

Americans support restrictions on
access to abortions.
12. Post Hoc (Fallacy of false
cause) - occurs when someone
incorrectly assumes a causal
relationship between two things.

Example: “John started going to

church more often, then won the
lottery; therefore, God is
rewarding his faithfulness.”
1. If you don't join our demonstration
against the expansion of the park, we
will evict you from your apartment.
Argumentum ad
Baculum
2. Gay marriage is wrong because
marriage has always been between a
man and a woman.

Argumentum ad
Antiquitatem
3. Stupid people are so annoying.
They prove their stupidity by saying
stupid things.
Argumentum ad
Nauseam
4. “You're stupid, so I don't
care what you have to say.”
Argumentum ad
Hominem
5. Dozens of poor families come to my
grandfather for financial help. All poor people
depend on other people for their living.

Hasty Generalization
6. Extended warranties are a very popular
purchase by the consumer, so extended
warranties must be good for the consumer.

Argumentum ad
Populum
7. Lady Gaga was more popular than Justin Bieber
in 2011 because on Facebook Lady Gaga's fan
pages collected 10 million more Facebook fans
than Justin's did.

Argumentum ad
Numerum
8. "God must exist, since
no one can demonstrate that He does
not exist."
Argumentum ad
Ignorantiam
9. "You need to pass me in this
course, since I'll lose my scholarship
if you don't."

Argumentum ad
Misericordiam
10. Our garage sale made lots of money
before Joan showed up. Obviously, she
scared off all the customers.

Post Hoc
11. A commercial claims that 3 out of 4
dentists would choose this particular brand
of toothpaste for their own families to use.

Argumentum ad
Verecundiam
12. There aren't enough parking
spaces on campus because there are
too many cars.
Circular Reasoning
13. Everyone drives over the speed
limit, so it should not be against the
law.

Appeal to People
14. I dislike abstract art
because it is unrealistic.
Circular Argument
15. Hurtlocker deserves an Oscar. Other films have
potential, but they do not deserve an Oscar like
Hurtlocker does. The other movies may deserve an
honorable mention but Hurtlocker deserves the Oscar.

Argument to the
Point of Disgust
16. "Cigarette smoke contains over
4,800 chemicals, 69 of which can
cause cancer.”
Appeal to Numbers
17. "You should not find the defendant
guilty of murder, since it would break his
poor mother's heart to see him sent to jail."

Appeal to Pity
18. My sister-in-law, who is a teacher,
said that this school is not somewhere
that I would want to send my children.
Appeal to Authority
19. I ate in three restaurants in Bangkok and
didn’t like the experience. There are no good
restaurants in Bangkok.

Over-Generalization
Fallacy
20. Everyone in our family has gone to
the University of Tennessee, so you
need to apply to UT.

Appeal to Tradition
21. “Every time I wear my
lucky shirt, I win.”

Fallacy of False
Cause
22. I deserve a raise in salary for the coming year. After
all, you know how friendly I am with your wife, and I'm
sure you wouldn't want her to find out what's been
going on between you and that sexpot client of yours.

Appeal to Force
23. She didn't say that I couldn't
borrow her car, so I figured it was fine
if I borrowed it for the weekend.
Appeal to Ignorance
24. Well, you don’t know anything
about this field, so why should anyone
listen to you?

Appeal to the Person

Drills
1. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, look at this
miserable man, in a wheelchair, unable to use his
legs. Could such a man really be guilty of
embezzlement?"

Appeal to Pity
2. The cheerleaders should be allowed to wear
their uniforms to school on Fridays because
that's the way we have always done it.

Appeal to Tradition
3. America is the best place to live,
because it’s better than any other
country.

Circular Argument
4. "Accept this position,
or I'll punish you."
Appeal to Force
5. There is no evidence for the Loch
Ness monster; therefore, the Loch
Ness monster does not exist.
Appeal to Ignorance
6. "Successful people have expensive
clothing; hence the best way to become
a success is to buy expensive clothing."
Fallacy of False
Cause
7. You've heard it said a thousand times
that God exists, so where's the confusion?
Clearly he exists. Just accept it.

Argument to the
Point of Disgust
8. Eight out of ten of the household
population in the Philippines were
Roman Catholics

Appeal to Numbers
9. Dr. Bloom cannot be a competent
marriage counselor because he is
divorced.
Appeal to the Person
10. We now produce the best program
in existence; four thousand
businesses subscribe to our program.
Appeal to People
11. “Bruce Willis supports Save the
Whales International, so it must be a
good cause.”

Appeal to Authority
12. "My roommate said her philosophy
class was hard, and the one I'm in is hard,
too. All philosophy classes must be hard!"

Over-Generalization
Fallacy
13. There aren't enough parking
spaces on campus because there are
too many cars.
Circular Reasoning
14. “It’s wrong to eat meat
because most vegetarians don’t
eat meat."
Argumentum ad
Populum
15. No one in this family has ever been
divorced; therefore, you need to work out
your marital problems. We don't get divorced!

Argumentum ad
Antiquitatem
16. “Professor Boeree
says behaviorism is dead.”

Argumentum ad
Verecundiam
17. People have always said that 9/11 was
done by Muslim extremists, you hear it
everywhere from everyone, every year, so it
must be true.

Argumentum ad
Nauseam
18. "Jim Bakker was an insincere
Christian. Therefore, all Christians are
insincere."
Hasty Generalization
19. "I did not murder my mother and father
with an axe! Please don't find me guilty; I'm
suffering enough through being an orphan.”

Argumentum ad
Misericordiam
20. "All I'm saying is that millions of
people believe in astrology, so there
must be something to it."
Argumentum ad
Numerum
21. “She got sick after she visited
China, so something in China caused
her sickness.”
Post Hoc
22. "You don’t agree with experimentation?
I’ve read that you were never able to get
any of your own research published!"

Argumentum ad
Hominem
23. If you don’t give me
money, I will break your arm.

Argumentum ad
Baculum
24. I love you…
Argumentum ad
Ignorantiam