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15 Logical Fallacies You Should

Know Before Getting Into a
Debate
BY EVAN THOMPSON
September 21, 2021

Need help prepping for an argument, or just want to

double check your philosophy homework? Below you'll
find 15 of the most common logical fallacies.

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Types of Logical Fallacies

Logical fallacies are flawed, deceptive, or

false arguments that can be proven wrong
with reasoning. These are the most common
fallacies you should know about.

Arguments and debates are an important

part of college and academic discourse. But
not every argument is perfect. Some can be
picked apart because they have errors in
reasoning and rhetoric. These are called
"logical fallacies," and they're very common.

You'll hear logical fallacies in the classroom,

during televised debates, and in arguments
with your friends. It can even be challenging
to avoid using them yourself.

This article lays out some of the most

common logical fallacies and how to identify
them.

What Is a Logical Fallacy?

Logical fallacies are flawed, deceptive, or

false arguments that can be proven wrong
with reasoning. There are two main types
of fallacies:

A formal fallacy is an argument

with a premise and conclusion that
doesn't hold up to scrutiny.

An informal fallacy is an error in

the form, content, or context of the
argument.

15 Types of Logical Fallacies

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Ad Hominem

Strawman Argument

Appeal to Ignorance

False Dilemma

Slippery Slope Fallacy

Circular Argument

Hasty Generalization

Red Herring Fallacy

Appeal to Hypocrisy

Causal Fallacy

Fallacy of Sunk Costs

Appeal to Authority

Equivocation

Appeal to Pity

Bandwagon Fallacy

—
Ad Hominem

An ad hominem fallacy uses personal

attacks rather than logic. This fallacy occurs
when someone rejects or criticizes another
point of view based on the personal
characteristics, ethnic background, physical
appearance, or other non-relevant traits of
the person who holds it.

Ad hominem arguments are often used in

politics, where they are often called
"mudslinging." They are considered unethical
because politicians can use them to
manipulate voters' opinions against an
opponent without addressing core issues.

Study Tool

See if you can tell which of these is an ad

hominem argument and which is just an
insult.

EXAMPLE 1

"MacDougal roots for a British football team. Clearly he's

unfit to be a police chief in Ireland."

EXAMPLE 2

"All people from Crete are liars."

—
Straw Man

A straw man argument attacks a different

subject rather than the topic being
discussed — often a more extreme version of
the counter argument. The purpose of this
misdirection is to make one's position look
stronger than it actually is.

The straw man argument is appropriately

named after a harmless, lifeless scarecrow.
Instead of contending with the actual
argument, they attack the equivalent of a
lifeless bundle of straw — an easily defeated
puppet that the opponent was never arguing
for in the first place.

Study Tool

See if you can detect how both of the

following statements could qualify as
strawmen arguments.

EXAMPLE 1

"The Senator thinks we can solve all our ecological

problems by driving a Prius."

EXAMPLE 2

"Quite the contrary: The Senator thinks the environment

is such a wreck that no one's car choice or driving habits
would make the slightest difference."

—
Appeal to Ignorance

An appeal to ignorance (also known as an

"argument from ignorance") argues that a
proposition must be true because it has not
been proven false or there is no evidence
against it.

The argument can be used to bolster

multiple contradictory conclusions at once,
such as the following two claims:

"No one has ever been able to prove

that extraterrestrials exist, so they
must not be real."

"No one has ever been able to prove

that extraterrestrials do not exist, so
they must be real."

An appeal to ignorance doesn't prove

anything. Instead, it shifts the need for proof
away from the person making a claim.

Study Tool

Which of the following examples is an appeal

to ignorance?

EXAMPLE 1

"We have no evidence that the Illuminati ever existed.

They must have been so clever that they destroyed all the
evidence."

EXAMPLE 2

"I know nothing about Tank Johnson except that he has a

criminal record as long as your leg, but I'll bet he's really
just misunderstood."

—
False Dilemma/False Dichotomy

A false dilemma or false dichotomy presents

limited options — typically by focusing on
two extremes — when in fact more
possibilities exist. The phrase "America: Love
it or leave it" is an example of a false
dilemma.

The false dilemma fallacy is a manipulative

tool designed to polarize the audience,
promoting one side and demonizing another.
It's common in political discourse as a way of
strong-arming the public into supporting
controversial legislation or policies.

Study Tool

See if you can come up with a third option

that these examples failed to mention.

EXAMPLE 1

"Either we go to war or we appear weak."

EXAMPLE 2

"Either you love me or you hate me."

—
Slippery Slope

A slippery slope argument assumes that a

certain course of action will necessarily lead
to a chain of future events. The slippery slope
fallacy takes a benign premise or starting
point and suggests that it will lead to
unlikely or ridiculous outcomes with no
supporting evidence.

You may have used this fallacy on your

parents as a teenager: "But you have to let
me go to the party! If I don't go to the party, I'll
be a loser with no friends. Next thing you
know, I'll end up alone and jobless, living in
your basement when I'm 30!"

Study Tool

Which of these examples is a slippery slope

fallacy and which is not?

EXAMPLE 1

"Your coach's policy is that no one can be a starter on

game day if they miss practice. So if you miss basketball
practice today, you won't be a starter in Friday's game.
Then you won't be the first freshman to start on the
varsity basketball team at our school."

EXAMPLE 2

"If you miss practice, it means you were probably goofing

off. People who goof off drop out of school and end up
penniless."

—
Circular Argument

Circular arguments occur when a person's

argument repeats what they already
assumed before without arriving at a new
conclusion. For example, if someone says,
"According to my brain, my brain is reliable,"
that's a circular argument.

Circular arguments often use a claim as both

a premise and a conclusion. This fallacy only
appears to be an argument when in fact it's
just restating one's assumptions.

Study Tool

See if you can identify which of these is a

circular argument.

EXAMPLE 1

"Smoking pot is against the law because it's wrong; I

know it's wrong because it is against the law."

EXAMPLE 2

"Smoking pot is against the law; this leads many to

believe it is wrong."

—
Hasty Generalization

A hasty generalization is a claim based on a

few examples rather than substantial proof.
Arguments based on hasty generalizations
often don't hold up due to a lack of
supporting evidence: The claim might be
true in one case, but that doesn't mean it's
always true.

Hasty generalizations are common in

arguments because there's a wide range of
what's acceptable for "sufficient" evidence.
The rules for evidence can change based on
the claim you're making and the
environment where you are making it —
whether it's rooted in philosophy, the
sciences, a political debate, or discussing
house rules for using the kitchen.

Study Tool

Which of the following is a hasty

generalization?

EXAMPLE 1

"Some people vote without seriously weighing the merits

of the candidate."

EXAMPLE 2

"People nowadays only vote with their emotions instead

of their brains."

—
Red Herring

A red herring is an argument that uses

confusion or distraction to shift attention
away from a topic and toward a false
conclusion. Red herrings usually contain an
unimportant fact, idea, or event that has
little relevance to the real issue.

Red herrings are a common diversionary

tactic when someone wants to shift the
focus of an argument to something easier or
safer to address. But red herrings can also be
unintentional.

Study Tool

Which of the following examples is a red

herring fallacy?

EXAMPLE 1

"My roommate wants to talk about cleaning out the

garage, so I asked her what she wants to do with our
patio furniture. Now she's shopping for new patio
furniture and not asking me about the garage."

EXAMPLE 2

"My wife wants to talk about cleaning out the garage, so I

asked her what she wants to do with the patio furniture,
because it's just sitting in the garage taking up space."

—
Appeal to Hypocrisy

An appeal to hypocrisy — also known as the

tu quoque fallacy — focuses on the hypocrisy
of an opponent. The tu quoque fallacy
deflects criticism away from oneself by
accusing the other person of the same
problem or something comparable.

The tu quoque fallacy is an attempt to divert

blame. The fallacy usually occurs when the
arguer uses apparent hypocrisy to neutralize
criticism and distract from the issue.

Study Tool

Which of the following is an appeal to

hypocrisy?

EXAMPLE 1

"But, Dad, I know you smoked when you were my age, so

how can you tell me not to do it?"

EXAMPLE 2

"Son, yes, I smoked when I was your age. It was dumb

then and it's dumb now. That's why I forbid you to smoke,
chew, vape, use nicotine gum, or do whatever you kids do
with tobacco these days."

—
Causal Fallacy

Causal fallacies are informal fallacies that

occur when an argument incorrectly
concludes that a cause is related to an effect.
Think of the causal fallacy as a parent
category for other fallacies about unproven
causes.

One example is the false cause fallacy, which

is when you draw a conclusion about what
the cause was without enough evidence to
do so. Another is the post hoc fallacy, which
is when you mistake something for the
cause because it came first — not because it
actually caused the effect.

Study Tool

Which kind of causal fallacy is at work in

these examples?

EXAMPLE 1

"Jimmy isn't at school today. He must be on a family trip."

EXAMPLE 2

"Every time a rooster crows, the sun comes up. Crows

must be the creators of the universe."

—
Sunk Cost

A sunk cost fallacy is when someone

continues doing something because of the
effort they already put in it, regardless of
whether the additional costs outweigh the
potential benefits. "Sunk cost" is an
economic term for any past expenses that
can no longer be recovered.

For example: Imagine that after watching the

first six episodes of a TV show, you decide the
show isn't for you. Those six episodes are
your "sunk cost." A sunk cost fallacy would be
deciding to finish watching anyway because
you've already invested roughly six hours of
your life in it.

Study Tool

Which of these is a sunk cost fallacy and

which is not?

EXAMPLE 1

"I know this relationship isn't working anymore and that

we're both miserable. No marriage. No kids. No steady job.
But I've been with him for seven years, so I'd better stay
with him."

EXAMPLE 2

"I'm halfway done with college. This is so tough, and it's

not nearly as fun as I thought it would be, but I don't
know. I guess I'll finish it and get my degree."

—
Appeal to Authority

Appeal to authority is the misuse of an

authority's opinion to support an argument.
While an authority's opinion can represent
evidence and data, it becomes a fallacy if
their expertise or authority is overstated,
illegitimate, or irrelevant to the topic.

For example, citing a foot doctor when trying

to prove something related to psychiatry
would be an appeal to authority fallacy.

Study Tool

How do these statements mishandle

authorities?

EXAMPLE 1

"Because Martin Sheen played the president on

television, he'd probably make a great president in real
life."

EXAMPLE 2

"One day robots will enslave us all. It's true. My computer