Fallacy is an argument that uses poor, or invalid, reasoning.

It is an incorrect argument
in logic and rhetoric resulting in a lack of validity, or more generally, a lack of soundness. A
fallacy can be either formal or informal. A formal fallacy is a pattern of reasoning that is always
wrong. This is due to a flaw in the logical structure of the argument which renders the argument
invalid. An informal fallacy is an argument whose stated premises fail to support its proposed
conclusion. The problem with an informal fallacy often stems from a flaw in reasoning that
renders the conclusion unpersuasive. In contrast to a formal fallacy of deduction, the error is not
merely a flaw in logic.
A. Linguistic fallacy or fallacies in the language are due to the ambiguity of or lack of
preciseness in the words or phrases used to express ideas. It is this ambiguity that leads
one into making wrong conclusions or inferences.

1. The fallacy of equivocation is committed when a term is used in two or more different
senses within a single argument.
For an argument to work, words must have the same meaning each time they appear in its
premises or conclusion. Arguments that switch between different meanings of words
equivocate, and so dont work. This is because the change in meaning introduces a
change in subject. If the words in the premises and the conclusion mean different things,
then the premises and the conclusion are about different things, and so the former cannot
support the latter.

A. The church would like to encourage theism.
Theism is a medical condition resulting from the excessive consumption of tea.
Therefore:
The church ought to distribute tea more freely.

B. The church would like to encourage theism.
Theism is a medical condition resulting from the excessive consumption of tea.
Therefore:
The church ought to distribute tea more freely.


2. Amphiboly or amphibology is a situation where a sentence may be interpreted in more
than one way due to ambiguous sentence structure.
A. Teenagers shouldnt be allowed to drive.
Its getting too dangerous on the streets.
B. I once shot an elephant in my pajamas.
How he got in my pajamas Ill never know.

3. Accent also referred to as accentus, that happens when the meaning of sentences is
changed by prosodic stress (emphasis on a word). its unclear which word the emphasis is
place at.

A. I didnt take the test yesterday.(somebody else did it)
"i didnt take the test yesterday." (I did not take it)

4. Composition is a fallacy characterized by arguing (a) that what is true of each part of a
whole is also (necessarily) true of the whole itself, or (b) what is true of some parts is also
(necessary) true of the whole itself.
A. The human body is made up of atoms, which are invisible. Therefore, the human
body is invisible.
B. A car made from the highest quality part from every other car in the world would be a
really great automobile.

5. Division is committed when a person infers that what is true of a whole must also be true
of its constituents and justification for that inference is not provided.
The first type of fallacy of Division is committed when 1) a person reasons that what is
true of the whole must also be true of the parts and 2) the person fails to justify that
inference with the required degree of evidence. More formally, the "reasoning" follows
this sort of pattern.
A. The ball is blue, therefore the atoms that make it up are also blue.
B. Bill lives in a large building, so his apartment must be large.

6. Figure of speech or parallel-word construction is when the argument is based on
implification of similarity in word structure leading in the similarity in meaning.
A. Since the opposite of illiterate is literate, then the opposite of liquid is illiquid.
B. Since the opposite of immobile is mobile, then the opposite of inflammable is
flammable.




B .Non- linguistic Fallacy is an actual or possible derivation from sentience, which is not
associated with signs that have any original or primary intent of communication.

1. Accident is the fallacy of applying a general rule to a particular case whose special
circumstances render the rule inapplicable.
The fallacy of accident results from using a statement which has a qualified meaning as
if it had no qualification whatsoever.
A. Thou shalt not kill; therefore, you should not try to control termites in your home or
fight for your country.
B. All persons are created equal, so since you made a C in this class, you haven't been
working as hard as you should.
Even though people are supposedly created equal politically, it does not follow that
they are created equal in academic pursuits.
2. False Cause: the fallacy committed when an argument mistakenly attempt to establish a
causal connection. There are two basic interrelated kinds.
Post hoc ergo propter hoc: (literally "after this, therefore because of this") the fallacy of
arguing that one event was caused by another event merely because it occurred after that
event.
A. Since hair always precedes the growth of teeth in babies, the growth of hair causes
the growth of teeth.
B. Every severe recession follows a Republican Presidency; therefore Republicans are
the cause of recessions
3. Two wrongs make a right is a "justification" of an action against a person by the
"reasoning" that the person would commit the same offense to him/her.
A. After leaving the store, bob notices he's underpaid by $10. He decides not to go back
to pay the rest because if he overpays, they might not give him change.
B. MD uses capitol punishment. Some say its fine because the ones the state kills have
no qualms when they kill others.
4. Poisoning the well is a "reasoning" in which one tries to discredit a person's claim by
presenting unfavorable information (true or false) about that person.
A. Dont listen to her! Shes a liar!
B. He's a cheater! Hes already in a relationship!
5. False or weak analogy
In an analogy, two objects (or events), A and B are shown to be similar. Then it is argued
that since A has property P, so also B must have property P. An analogy fails when the
two objects, A and B, are different in a way which affects whether they both have
property P.
A. Government is like business, so just as business must be sensitive primarily to the
bottom line, so also must government

6. Apple Polishing also known as Appeal to Flattery, various "colorful" expressions. The
basic idea behind this fallacy is that flattery is presented in the place of evidence for
accepting a claim. This sort of "reasoning" is fallacious because flattery is not, in fact,
evidence for a claim.
A. Might I say that this is the best philosophy class I've ever taken. By the way, about
those two points I need to get an A
B. That was a wonderful joke about AIDS boss, and I agree with you that the damn
liberals are wrecking the country. Now about my raise...

7. Horse laugh is a sort of "reasoning" is fallacious because mocking a claim does not show
that it is false. This is especially clear in the following example: "1+1=2! That's the most
ridiculous thing I have ever heard!"
-It should be noted that showing that a claim is ridiculous through the use of legitimate
methods (such as a non fallacious argument) can make it reasonable to reject the claim.
One form of this line of reasoning is known as a "reductio ad absurdum" ("reducing to
absurdity"). In this sort of argument, the idea is to show that a contradiction (a statement
that must be false) or an absurd result follows from a claim.
A. Sure my worthy opponent claims that we should lower tuition, but that is just
laughable.
B. Support the ERA? Sure, when the women start paying for the drinks! Hah! Hah!

8. Peer pressure is a fallacy in which a threat of rejection by ones peer (or peer pressure) is
substituted in an argument. Assumed to be logically valid because of popular support.
A. 7 in 10 doctors say acupuncture works, therefore it must work!
B. Everyones doing it! Come on, you can do it, too!
9. False analogy occurs when two things compared are not similar enough to warrant the
comparison.
A. Students should be allowed to look at their textbooks during examinations. After all,
surgeons have X-rays to guide them during an operation, and carpenters have blueprints
to guide them when they are building a house. Why, then, shouldnt students be allowed
to look on their textbooks during an examination?
B. Believing in the literal resurrection of Jesus is like believing in the literal existence of
zombies.
10. Subjectivism is claiming something is true for one person, but not for someone else
when, in fact, it is true for everyone (objective) as demonstrated by empirical evidence.
Person 1 claims that Y is true.
Person 2 claims that Y is true for some people, but not for everyone (even though
empirical evidence states otherwise)

A. Jane: You know, smoking might not be the most healthy habit to start.
Terry: Smoking is unhealthy for most people, but not for me.

B. Jack: Sorry, your argument is full of contradictions.
Ted: Contradictions only apply to the carnal mind, not the spiritual one.

11. The Straw Man fallacy is committed when a person simply ignores a person's actual
position and substitutes a distorted, exaggerated or misrepresented version of that
position. This sort of "reasoning" has the following pattern:
A. Person A has position X.
Person B presents position Y (which is a distorted version of X).
Person B attacks position Y.
Therefore X is false/incorrect/flawed.
Senator Jones says that we should not fund the attack submarine program. I disagree entirely. I
can't understand why he wants to leave us defenseless like that.
C. Bill and Jill are arguing about cleaning out their closets:
Jill: "We should clean out the closets. They are getting a bit messy."
Bill: "Why, we just went through those closets last year. Do we have to clean them
out every day?"
Jill: "I never said anything about cleaning them out every day. You just want to keep
all your junk forever, which is just ridiculous."