#areas/communication # Argumentation Fallacies # Appeals ## Appeal to Authority Accepting a claim simply beacause someone in authority said it "The CEO said we need to invest in this company, so we should do it." ## Appeal to Emotion Using emotions instead of reasoning to persuade ## Appeal to Tradition Arguing that something is true or good simply because it's been done that for a long time # Putting the argument on an unrelated entity ## Genetic Fallacy Dismissing an Argument because of where it came from or who said it "I can't listen to what he says, he's a member of the opposing political party." ## Bandwagon Arguing that something is true or good because everyone else believes it or is doing it # Manipulation of the argument itself ## Straw Man Misrepresenting an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack ## False Dilemma Presenting only two options when there are actually more available ## False Analogy Comparing two things that are actually not similar in relevant ways "Banning guns is like banning cars because they both cause deaths." ## False Equivalence Assuming that two things are equal or comparable when they are not "Telling a lie is just as bad as committing murder." # Attacking or Manipulating the other person ## Ad Hominem Attacking a person instead of their argument "I can't take your argument seriously because you're a criminal." ## Tu Quoque Arguing that someone is hypocritical for doing something, even if it doesn't invalidate their argument "You can't criticize me for smoking, when you smoke too." ## Loaded Question Asking a question that includes an implicit assumption about the responend answering it. "Have you stopped beating your wife?" ## Red Herring Introducting an irrelevant topic to divert attention from the original issue # Missing Evidence ## Slippery Slope Arguing that one action will lead to a chain of negative events without providing evidence. ## Hasty Generalization Drawing a conclusion based on insufficient evidence or a small sample size ## False Cause Assuming causation between two events without evidence ## Circular Reasoning Using a conclusion as one of the premises in an argument "The Bible is true because it says it is true." ## Burden of Proof Shifting the burden of proof onto the other person instead of providing evidence for your own claim. "Prove to me that ghosts don't exist." ## Ancecdotal Fallacy Using a personal story or anectode as evidence, even if it is not representative or supported by the data "My grandfather smoked cigarettes all his life and lived to be 100, so smoking can't be that bad for you."