1. Two Wrongs Make Right
a fallacy of relevance, in which an allegation of wrongdoing is countered with a similar allegation. Its antithesis, "two wrongs don't make a right", is a proverb used to rebuke or renounce wrongful conduct as a response to another's transgression
America does not need to regulate pollution because China is producing more pollution than we are.
Daisy could cheat on Tom with Gatsby because Tom was cheating on her with Myrtle
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” - Hammurabi
Chris Jones
Period 2

2. Straw Man
A fallacy that occurs when a speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example in order to ridicule and refute an idea.
Examples:
Opposing argument: Bicycle infrastructure should be expanded because cycling is a sustainable mode of transportation.
Straw man argument: We should not build bike lanes because cyclists run red lights and endanger pedestrians.
Opposing argument: Publicly funded healthcare should be enacted in the U.S. so all Americans can have equal access to the care they need to live full, happy, and productive lives.
Straw man argument: In this age of government spending run amok, the last thing we need is another entitlement
Politician X proposes that we put astronauts on Mars in the next years. Politician Y ridicules this proposal by saying that his opponent is looking for “little green men in outer space”.
Chris Stathopoulos

3. Faulty Causal Generalization
Definition:
a conclusion about all or many instances of a phenomenon that has been reached on the basis of just one or just a few instances of that phenomenon. It is an example of jumping to conclusions.
Examples:
His grandmother and father had cancer, so he will get cancer.
Her friends all make bad grades in school, so she must have bad grades too.
Both of his parents have jobs in the medical field, so he will have a job in the medical field when he grows up.
Justin Strickland
2nd Period

4. Appeal to Force (Scare Tactics)
When force, coercion, or even a threat of force is used in place of a reason in an attempt to justify a conclusion.
Melvin: Boss, why do I have to work weekends when nobody else in the company does?
Boss: Am I sensing insubordination? I can find another employee very quickly, thanks to Craigslist, you know.
2. Jordan: Dad, why do I have to spend my summer at Jesus camp?
Dad: Because if you don’t, you will spend your entire summer in your room with nothing but your Bible!
3. One day, you're waiting in line for an ice cream cone, minding your own business, when a person who is bigger and stronger than you steps in front of you.
'Um, excuse me. I'm in line,' you say.
The Big Bully replies, 'Well, I'm in front of you now. You'll just have to wait longer for your ice cream because we both know what will happen if you make trouble over this.'
Isabella Blake

5. Madison Frazier 2nd Period
ATTACKING THE MOTIVE
Attacking the motive is when someone attacks the reasoning behind an argument rather than the argument itself. The attacker attempts to prove that a person’s claim is invalid because the motive behind the claim is based on conflicting interests.
Claim: ___ is a bad person.
Attacking the motive: The person making the claim dislikes the person they are talking about for unrelated reasons, so therefore their motive makes their claim biased.
2. The Crucible- Abigail and the other girls claim many people in the town are involved in witchcraft.
Attacking their motive: They were acting out and making all these claims initially because they didn’t want to get in trouble for dancing in the woods and they continued because they enjoyed the attention- their motives were completely skewed.
3. J. Edgar Hoover made claims about anarchist planning to overthrow the entire US government during the First Red Scare.
Attacking his claim: He was the US Attorney General and he wanted to become president, many believe that he made the claims in order to gain attention before the next election- his claim was discredited because his motive was believed to be corrupt.

6. Inappropriate Appeal to Authority
What is a logical fallacy?
the use of faulty reasoning in an argument
What is an inappropriate appeal to authority?
using a person of authority as evidence to make a claim true
Jessica Reck
p. 2

7. Bandwagon:
A fallacy based on the idea that the majority is always right
Everyone believes it so it must be true
Appealing to popularity
Ex. Animal Farm by George Orwell
The animals accept the rules and changing commandments of Comrade Napoleon because the majority of the animals are not doing anything to go against it
Ex. Hitler and the Nazis
During WWII the majority went along with persecuting the Jews because Hitler had various forms of propaganda supporting his ideals
Ex. Famous People
Kylie Jenner is really popular, so having a baby at 20 years old must be a good idea
Anna Farnworth

8. Fallacy of Logical Argument
Red Herring
Fallacy of Logical Argument
A deliberate diversion of attention that is intended to distract the audience from the original argument or issue
Examples:
Frozen: Hans can be viewed as the movie’s “Red Herring” as his purpose is to mislead the audience into thinking that he is Anna’s true love. He also directs the audience to believe that the “act of true love” will be in the romantic sense, but the actual meaning leans towards the sister relationship in the film.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Throughout the book, the reader is to believe that Snape is the antagonist and is helping Voldemort. He serves as the “Red Herring” as Harry’s suspicion of him distracts readers from thinking Professor Quirrell is a threat when in reality, he is the entire time.
Alice in Wonderland: Whenever Alice asks where the white rabbit is, the answer is always avoided. For instance, after Alice asks which way the white rabbit went, the Cheshire Cat asks her “What rabbit?” and goes on to ask her if she can stand on her head.
Kaylee Wesolowski

9. Inconsistency Fallacy
The inconsistency fallacy is an argument that includes a contradiction. The argument is flawed due to the fact that two distinct beliefs are both promoted.
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” – Yogi Berra
“America is going to be a reliable friend and ally again. The countries we are defending must pay for the cost of this defense- and, if not, the U.S. must be prepared to let these countries defend themselves.” – Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Address
“Almost everything is true. Almost nothing is true.” –The Things They Carried
Kendra Jacobs

10. AD HOMINEM An argument that is directed against the person,
rather than their position they are defending
Examples:
1. A lawyer attacking a defendant’s character rather than addressing or questioning based on the case in a case of theft pointing out the defendant’s level of poverty.
2. A politician degrading another politician during a political campaign when asked about a specific policy – “Well, I think we need to look at the other candidate’s failures regarding this topic.”
3. Stating that someone’s argument is incorrect because of her religious beliefs –“Perhaps if you weren’t part of that particular religious group, you would see this quite differently.”
Kristen Rousseau

11. Equivocation
Definition: when a words shift meanings in an argument.
1). Hot dogs are better than nothing. Nothing is better than hamburgers. Therefore, hot dogs are better than hamburgers. (Nothing means “no thing” in the first sentence but changes meaning to “all things” in the second sentence)
2). Feathers are light. What is light cannot be dark. Therefore, feathers are not dark. (Light refers to weight in the first sentence, but to color in the second sentence)
3). Kids make nutritious snacks. (Here make is used to show that kids make food, instead of kids are food)
Marileigh Urdang

12. Card Stacking ‘10% Fat!’ ‘ 90% Fat Free!’
The highlighting of positive details and responses while silencing and censoring any negative details or criticisms.
‘ 90% Fat Free!’
Sounds much more appealing than
‘10% Fat!’
Mumbled side effects in commercials for new medicines
Lawyer commercials detailing amount of money clients earned through this lawyer
Livie Puranen

13. Red Herring
Definition: a deliberate diversion of attention with the intention of trying to abandon the original argument.
Examples:
Son: "Wow, Dad, it's really hard to make a living on my salary." Father: "Consider yourself lucky, son. Why, when I was your age, I only made $40 a week.“
Daughter: "I'm so hurt that Todd broke up with me, Mom." Mother: "Just think of all the starving children in Africa, honey. Your problems will seem pretty insignificant then.“
Jack: "Bob Dylan is the greatest performer of our time." Jill: "Well, Dylan is a fine writer, but as a performer, he stinks. I saw a concert of his once and we was singing unintelligibly and looked like he was falling asleep." Jack: "Well, Fleetwood Mac, one of your favorite groups, is not so great in concert either."
Aaron Glidden

14. STRAW MAN- fibs and exaggerations
Senator A: “I think we should make medical marijuana more readily available for patients who need it.”
Senator B: “That’s a terrible idea. If we let everyone just do drugs whenever they want, crimes rates will increase drastically.”
Person A: I don’t think we should hire radical unionists
Person B: Ohh. So you’re saying you don’t care about workers? They don’t deserve to fight for their rights? You support robber barons?
I believe in evolution.
So you think humans came from pond scum??
exaggerate, misrepresent, or fabricate opponent‘s argument, making it easier to present your own position as being reasonable
ruins honest, reasonable debate
Beware “so you think/you’re saying“ or “but“ plus a totally exaggerated or even irrelevant topic
Katie Campassi
2nd

15. Inconsistency
Holding two or more views/beliefs that cannot all be true together
Ex 1: In the Disney show Mickey Mouse Club House, Pluto the pet dog acts like a dog whereas Goofy, also a dog, acts like a person
Ex 2: In Amendment 14, it states that any person born or naturalized in the U.S. is a citizen, but in the past women and some African Americans were still not treated as such
Ex 3: Throughout the U.S. there are signs and advertisements to prevent deforestation or encourage preservation, yet the destruction of nature took place to provide the materials and space to do so.
Makayla Winkler

16. LOADED QUESTION
A question that implies something but protects the one asking it from accusations of false claims. The question becomes a fallacy when the audience does not detect the assumed information hidden in the question, accepting it as a fact (even though it is not a proven one).
“How am I to get in?” asked Alice again, in a louder tone.
“Are you to get in at all?” said the footman, ”That’s the first question, you know.”
-Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
“Should a smack as part of good parenting be a criminal offense in New Zealand?”
-Murray Edridge, 2009 Referendum
“How many times a day do you beat your wife?”
Megan Corn

17. The use of pity or potential sadness to strengthen an argument
Examples:
Ginger: Your dog just ran into our house and ransacked our kitchen!
Mary: He would never do that, look at how adorable he is with those puppy eyes!
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.
Appeal to Pity
The use of pity or potential sadness to strengthen an argument
Charlie Putzel

18. Appeal to Ignorance
asserts that a proposition is true because it has not yet been proven false (or vice versa)
since it has not been proven that aliens exist, they most certainly do not
because my car is gold, gold must be my favorite color
we all want to do this project because nobody has protested it
Connor Burt

20. Slippery Slope Logical Fallacy
If you drink coffee when you're young, you'll stunt your growth
“If we do not end his [Putin’s] reign of terror we will have no choice but to take military action”-Donald Trump
“You can’t have that gun, you’ll shoot your eye out!”- A Christmas story
It is an argument that suggests taking a minor action will lead to major and sometimes ludicrous consequences.
Buddy Fennell
2nd period

21. False alternative Morgan Cord- 2nd
A false alternative, otherwise known as a false dilemma, occurs when one fails to consider all the relevant possibilities, leading the listener to make false assumptions about the narrator’s topic.
Examples:
Trump’s statement in a campaign video: “We’re going to win so much that you’re going to get used to winning instead of getting used to losing” (Winning or losing as an option).
The “you are for us, or you are against us” argument, a commonly used one in politics as well.
Last but not least, “you either like kids or you don’t.”
Morgan Cord- 2nd

22. Weak analogy
when you compare two things that aren’t really alike in relevant ways
A is like B
B has property P
Therefore A has property P
“apples and oranges taste the same”
Reasoning: they’re shaped the same, and they’re both fruits
“There are seven windows given to animals in the domicile of the head: two nostrils, two ears, and a mouth… From this and many other similarities in Nature, too tedious to enumerate, we gather that the number of planets must necessarily be seven.” (Francesco Sizzi, 17th-century Italian astronomer)
Watchmaker analogy (famously broadcast by William Paley in an 1802 book)
The universe and watches are complex
A watch must be made by a watchmaker
Therefore the universe must also have a designer
Claire Segura
2nd Period

23. Begging the Question
A form of circular reasoning, Begging the Question is where the conclusion is assumed in one of the premises of the argument, or using a premise to support itself. If the premise is questionable, then the argument is bad.
The Articles of Confederation: If the government of the nation has little power, then the people will have lots of power.
Wilson in The Great Gatsby: If Gatsby’s car ran over Myrtle, then Gatsby was her murderer.
USS Maine in the Spanish-American War: If the Maine blew up in Spanish territory, it was the Spanish that destroyed it.
Sandhu Aladuwaka