Ad-Hominem Attacking the individual that makes the statement rather than the argument
Feb 23, 2016
Ad-HominemAttacking the individual that makes the statement rather
than the argument
Examples:
To the court: “You cannot accept the testimony of this person, he is a convicted felon”
A makes claim X
There is something wrong about A
Therefore X is wrong
Appeal to probabilityBelieving that something is inevitable just because it is
probable
Examples:
“There are two many viruses on the internet. Therefore if you log in without an antivirus, you will definitely get a virus”
A is possibleTherefore…A is inevitable
Argument from ignorance
(argumentum ad ignorantiam)
Something is true because it has not be proven false
Examples:
“You cannot prove that there are no Martians living in caves on planet Mars, therefore it is OK for me to believe there are”
There is no evidence for ATherefore A is falseThere is no evidence against ATherefore A is true
Argument to moderation
The middle ground must be correct
Examples:
“Some say vaccines are bad for babies but the WHO says they are good, so the truth must be somewhere in the middle”
A says XB says YThen Z which is in the middle of X and
Y must be correct
Circular reasoningTrying to prove a point by
repeating the same argument in different forms
Examples:
“Andreas Hoca is the best professor, because no one at Zirve University is as good as him”
A is goodBecause A is nice, excellent,
magnificentTherefore A is good
Straw manExaggerating opponents
argument in order to make it easier to attack
Examples:
“The PM said they will not fund the submarines program. I totally disagree, I don’t see why he wants to leave the country defenseless like that”
A says XB present X as YB attacks Y
Hasty GeneralizationReach conclusions on a
population based on a very limited sample
Examples:
“1 is a square number, 3, 5, 7 are prime, 9 is square, 11 is prime. Therefore all odd numbers are either squares or primes”
X% of A are BTherefore all A are B
Cherry pickingCarefully select evidence that
prove our argument and dismiss the ones that don’t
Examples:
“You should avoid garlic cause garlic consumption decreases your blood pressure, and you will feel exhausted”
X, Y, and Z prove AQ,R, and S disprove AWe only use X, Y, and Z
Band wagonPopular ideas are also correct
Examples:
“You should not talk to your shell phone all the time. It will hurt your brain…everyone knows that!”
A, B, C….Z believe X is correctTherefore X is correct
Slippery slopeThe idea that one thing will inevitably lead to another
Examples:
“If we allow gay marriage, next thing you will know, people will ask for polygamy”
If A happensThen be will happen
Argument from authority
Believing something is true because someone with authority
tells it
Examples:
“Saddam must have WMD, the president would never lie to us about it”
A says B is correctA has authorityB must be correct
False dilemmaPutting an argument in a “black
or white” term
Examples:
“I thought you are a good student, but I saw you out having fun the night before the finals”
Either A or B are correct