1. APPEAL TO FORCE The arguer, explicitly or implicitly, says that harm will come if you do not accept his or her conclusion. The fallacy always involves a threat by the arguer to the physical or psychological well-being of the listener or reader. Such a threat is irrelevant to the subject matter of the conclusion.

2. EXAMPLES Attorney to a jury: If you do not convict this murderer, one of you may be his next victim. Don’t argue with me. Remember who pays your salary. Professor to class: I know you will find all of my jokes extremely funny. In the past, all of those who haven’t laughed have failed the course. Boss to employee: I know you will be delighted to go out with me tonight. You know, of course, that you’re up for promotion next month.

3. APPEAL TO PITY The appeal to pity fallacy occurs when an arguer attempts to support a conclusion by merely evoking pity from the reader or listener. With appeals to pity, a reader or listener may be fooled into accepting a conclusion that is not supported by any evidence. This fallacy is often used by students around exam time and by lawyers on behalf of their clients.

4. APPEAL TO PITY EXAMPLES: Mr. Hughes, it would be wrong for you to flunk me for cheating. I am a single mother, and to provide for my kids, I have to work two jobs. At the end of the day I am exhausted and don’t have time to study. Mr. Hughes, I deserve an “A” on this paper. I passed up a skiing weekend just to write it. Plus, I worked really, really hard on it. Avis Rent-a-Car: “We’re number two.”

5. APPEAL TO THE PEOPLE The appeal to popularity fallacy is committed when one’s desire for acceptance is used as a reason to accept a conclusion. Appeals to popularity take several forms: Bandwagon Appeal to vanity Appeal to snobbery All have the same basic structure: You want to be accepted, included-in-the-group, loved, or esteemed... Therefore, you should accept X as true.

6. APPEAL TO POPULARITY EXAMPLES: Obviously it is right for the United States to go to war against Iraq. Polls show that over 70% of Americans think the war is justified. You should read Shirley McClain's latest book. It’s sold over a million copies and is #1 on amazon.com. I’m a Pepper, he’s a Pepper, she’s a Pepper. Wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper, too? Join the Pepsi generation.

7. APPEAL TO POPULARITY Common practice/tradition appeals take the form of: Everybody does/has done X, therefore X (or you should do X too). Examples: The institution of marriage is as old has human history and thus must be considered sacred. Republicans have criticized Clinton for having extra-marital affairs, but...

8. APPEAL TO POPULARITY: VANITY/SNOBBERY Only real men drink Duff beer. The lady has taste. Eve. Regular and menthol. Introducing the Date Walnut Double Decker. It’s not your everyday cookie. We make the most expensive wine in America. Adventure Prints by Armstrong. If you’ve got the courage, we’ve got the carpet.

9. Ad Hominem This fallacy occurs when a person’s argument or claim is rejected by attacking the person rather than the person’s argument or claim. Three Distinct Forms: Abusive (Personal Attack) Circumstantial Ad Hominem Tu quoque

10. Abusive/Personal Attack Examples: Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine, has argued against the censorship of pornography. But Hefner is an immature, self-indulgent millionaire who never outgrew the adolescent fantasies of his youth. Therefore, his argument to nonsense. Here, the arguer is simply attacking Hefner’s character rather than his argument. What is being said is: 1. Hugh Hefner is a bad person. 2. Therefore, Hefner’s argument must be bad.

11. Abusive/Personal Attack Examples: Ms. Jones has just argued for computer courses in our grade school. But you should all know that Jones is a virtual moron who cannot even frame a coherent sentence. Clearly, she has no business arguing about anything. Ms. Jones has testified that she saw my client rob the First National Bank. But Ms. Jones has twice been convicted of perjury and you’ve heard from psychologists that Ms. Jones is a pathological liar. Clearly, you should not believe her testimony. NOT A FALLACY

12. Poisoning the Well Poisoning the well is a preemptive strike, an ad hominem in advance. Instead of poisoning water, this fallacy is used to poison the mind of the reader or listener. Examples: I beg of you, ladies and gentlemen, to remember when you hear members of the opposition that a person opposing this move does not have the welfare of our community at heart. Those who disagree with me when I say that mankind is corrupt prove that they are already corrupted. - Nietzsche

13. Circumstantial Ad Hominem Instead of heaping verbal abuse on his or her opponent, the respondent attempts to discredit the opponent’s argument by alluding to circumstance that effect the opponent. Those using the circumstantial ad hominem hope to show that the opponent is predisposed to argue the he or she does and should not be taken seriously This fallacy has the following pattern: 1. X is biased or has questionable motives. 2. Therefore, X’s argument or claim should be rejected.

14. Circumstantial Ad Hominem Examples: Mr. Hughes has argued that more money should be spent on education. But, Hughes is an underpaid college teacher. So, you know his argument is worthless. Obviously the Task Force on Crime is going to conclude that crime is on the way up. If they conclude it’s on the way down, they’d have to disband the task force, wouldn’t they? Bush and Cheney have said that war with Iraq is not about oil. But, they are both former oil-men. Of course they would say that.

15. Tu quoque Think of the tu quoque as the U 2 (you too) fallacy. This fallacy is committed when an arguer rejects another person’s argument or claim because that person fails to practice what he or she preaches.

16. Tu Quoque Examples: Doctor: You should quit smoking. Patient: Look who’s talking! I’ll quit when you do, Dr. Smokestack! Child to parent: Your argument that I should stop stealing candy is no good. You told me yourself just a week ago that you too stole candy when you were a kid. President Clinton: We need to restore family values in the American entertainment industry. Our children’s futures depend on it. John Q. Public: Why should we listen to anything a hypocrite says about family values?!

17. Accident This fallacy, a.k.a. a sweeping generalization, is committed when a general rule of thumb is misapplied to some specific case. Examples: Cars should never exceed the speed limit and police cars are cars. Therefore, police cars should never exceed the speed limit. Everyone has the right to own property. Therefore, even though Jones had been declared insane, you had no right to take away his weapon.

18. Straw Man The straw man fallacy is committed when an arguer distorts an opponent’s argument or claim in order to make it easier to attack. It is easier to fight a straw man than a real man.

19. Straw Man Examples: Jones has argued that the Yankees are better than the Braves. But the Braves aren’t a bad team. They have a great pitching staff. Obviously, Jones doesn’t know what he is talking about. Senator Smith has argued that we should outlaw violent pornography. Clearly, the Senator favors complete government censorship of books, magazines, and films. Frankly, I’m shocked at such a view. No senator should listen seriously to such an outrageous proposal.

20. Missing the Point This fallacy is committed when the conclusion of an argument does not logically follow from the premises. The fallacy of missing the point is similar to the red herring fallacy and, for this course, will be collapsed into that category.

21. RED HERRING/SMOKESCREEN A red herring, a smelly fish, is used to lead dogs astray. The smart dogs will follow the scent of the fox, while the dumb dogs will follow the fish. Do not follow the fish. The red herring fallacy is committed when the arguer attempts to lead the reader or listener off-track by diverting attention from the issue at hand to some other issue (some subtly related, though irrelevant issue).

22. RED HERRING/SMOKESCREEN EXAMPLES: Dr. Smith has argued that the morning-after pill is an effective contraceptive. But the morning-after pill simply encourages sexual promiscuity. Sexual promiscuity is the reason we have such high rates of abortion and out-of- wedlock births in this country. Obviously, Dr. Smith’s argument is flawed.

23. RED HERRING/SMOKESCREEN EXAMPLES: Dr. Smith has argued that the morning-after pill is an effective contraceptive. But the morning-after pill simply encourages sexual promiscuity. Sexual promiscuity is the reason we have such high rates of abortion and out-of- wedlock births in this country. Obviously, Dr. Smith’s argument is flawed.

24. RED HERRING/SMOKESCREEN EXAMPLES: Dr. Smith has argued that the morning-after pill is an effective contraceptive. But the morning-after pill simply encourages sexual promiscuity. Sexual promiscuity is the reason we have such high rates of abortion and out-of- wedlock births in this country. Obviously, Dr. Smith’s argument is flawed.

25. RED HERRING/SMOKESCREEN EXAMPLES: Professor von Poopen says that immediate steps should be taken to reduce global warming. However, the most serious environmental problem isn’t global warming, it’s overpopulation. Unless something is done to reduce population growth, mass starvation and irreversible environmental devastation will ensue. Frankly, I think von Poopen’s view is absurd.

26. RED HERRING/SMOKESCREEN EXAMPLES: Professor von Poopen says that immediate steps should be taken to reduce global warming. However, the most serious environmental problem isn’t global warming, it’s overpopulation. Unless something is done to reduce population growth, mass starvation and irreversible environmental devastation will ensue. Frankly, I think von Poopen’s view is absurd.

27. RED HERRING/SMOKESCREEN EXAMPLES: Professor von Poopen says that immediate steps should be taken to reduce global warming. However, the most serious environmental problem isn’t global warming, it’s overpopulation. Unless something is done to reduce population growth, mass starvation and irreversible environmental devastation will ensue. Frankly, I think von Poopen’s view is absurd.

28. RED HERRING/SMOKESCREEN How does one respond to a red herring? A simple statement will suffice: “True, perhaps, but irrelevant.”

29. Straw Man vs. Red Herring: 1. The straw man fallacy always involves misrepresenting another persons claim; the red herring often does not. Example: Jones says that democracy isn’t always the best form of government. Funny, I never thought Jones would advocate Communism. 2. The red herring fallacy always involves changing or evading the issue; the straw man often does not. Example: Jones says Hondas are safer than Fords. But Fords are built to last. Obviously, Jones does not know what she is talking about.