This page provides information about logical fallacies - common errors in reasoning that undermine the validity of arguments. Understanding these fallacies will help you identify weak arguments and improve your own reasoning skills!
Ad hominem
Example:
The Argument: A friend is recommending a plant-based diet, citing studies on its benefits for heart health.
The Ad Hominem Attack: "I'm not going to listen to your advice on diet. You're constantly talking about healthy eating, but I saw you sneak an entire bag of chips last week!"
The Fallacy: Whether or not the friend perfectly follows their own advice doesn't make the scientific evidence they cited about heart health any less true.
Explanation:
Attacking an individual and their character as a way of avoiding their potentially valid criticism and / or arguments
Ad Populum (Appeal to Popularity)
Example:
Billions of people have believed in God for thousands of years. It is highly improbable that they are all wrong.
Explanation:
Claiming that a proposition must be true because many people believe it. Popularity is not a proxy for truth; billions of people can be wrong simultaneously.
Anecdotal Evidence
Example:
I know prayer works because I prayed for my car to start and it did. Therefore, God answers prayers.
Explanation:
Using a personal story or an isolated example as "proof" for a general claim, while ignoring broader data or scientific evidence. Personal experiences are subjective and prone to confirmation bias or misinterpretation.
Appeal to Authority (Argument from Authority)
Example:
Contraception is a sin because the Pope declared it so.
Explanation:
Asserting that a claim is true simply because an authority figure (a priest, a pope, or a religious leader) said it, without providing independent evidence for the claim itself.
Appeal to Beauty / Nature
Example:
"Oh wow, look how beautiful the trees and flowers are, so there must be a god!"
Explanation:
The assumption that aesthetic beauty or complexity in nature implies a conscious designer, ignoring natural processes like evolution and emergence.
Appeal to Emotion
Example:
How can you believe there is no God? Imagine the sheer hopelessness and void of an existence where there is no eternal love and no reunion with your lost loved ones.
Explanation:
Attempting to win an argument by manipulating the listener's emotions (fear, guilt, sadness, or hope) rather than providing factual evidence. This shifts the focus from the truth of the claim to the feeling of the person.
Appeal to Ignorance
Example:
You can't prove that God doesn't exist, therefore He must exist.
Explanation:
Arguing that a claim is true simply because it has not been proven false, or that it is false because it has not been proven true. It attempts to shift the burden of proof.
Appeal to Tradition
Example:
The church has taught this doctrine for two thousand years; it is unlikely that we have been wrong this entire time.
Explanation:
Claiming that a belief or practice is correct or true simply because it has been part of a tradition for a long time. Longevity is not evidence of truth; many harmful or incorrect beliefs were maintained for centuries.
Argument from Desire
Example:
Humans have an innate longing for an eternal home. This longing exists because we were created for heaven, and therefore heaven and God must exist.
Explanation:
Arguing that because humans have a desire for something (e.g., eternal life, perfect justice), there must be a reality (God) that satisfies that desire. This confuses a want with a fact.
Argument from Personal Incredulity
Example:
I just cannot imagine how the universe could have come from a singularity or evolved through natural processes. Therefore, a designer must exist.
Explanation:
Concluding that because a concept is difficult to imagine or understand, it must be false. This replaces a lack of knowledge or imagination with a divine explanation.
Association Fallacy (Guilt by Association)
Example:
Stalin was an atheist, so any argument coming from an atheist is likely rooted in a desire for totalitarian control.
Explanation:
Discrediting an argument or a person because they are associated with a group or individual who is viewed negatively.
Begging the Question / Circular Reasoning
Example:
The Bible is the word of God because it says so in the Bible, and the Bible is infallible because it was written by God.
Explanation:
An argument where the conclusion is included in the premise. The arguer assumes the truth of the very thing they are trying to prove.
Cherry Picking (Suppression of Evidence)
Example:
The Bible is a book of love and peace because Jesus said 'Love thy neighbor,' while ignoring the passages that command the slaughter of entire cities.
Explanation:
Pointing to individual cases or data that seem to confirm a particular position while ignoring a significant body of contradictory evidence.
Correlation Equals Causation (Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc)
Example:
I prayed for my illness to go away, and a week later I felt better. Therefore, the prayer caused the healing.
Explanation:
Assuming that because one event followed another, the first event caused the second. It ignores other possible variables or simple coincidence.
Equivocation
Example:
You have 'faith' that your chair will hold you when you sit down. I have 'faith' in God. Therefore, having faith in God is just like having faith in a chair.
Explanation:
Using a particular word or phrase in multiple senses within an argument to mislead the listener or create a false connection.
False Dilemma (False Dichotomy)
Example:
Either the universe was designed by God, or it happened by random chance.
Explanation:
Presenting two opposing options as the only possibilities, when in fact other alternatives exist.
False Premise
Example:
The universe began to exist (premise); everything that begins to exist has a cause (premise); therefore, the universe has a cause.
Explanation:
Basing an entire argument on a premise that is either untrue or unproven. If the foundation is false, the conclusion is invalid.
Fine Tuning (Teleological Fallacy)
Example:
If the strength of gravity were slightly different, stars wouldn't form and we wouldn't be here. This proves the universe was specifically tuned for human existence.
Explanation:
Arguing that because the universe appears "tuned" for life, it must have been designed for us. This ignores the "anthropic principle".
God of the Gaps
Example:
Science can't explain exactly how the first living cell formed from inorganic matter. Therefore, God must have created life.
Explanation:
Attributing unexplained natural phenomena to divine intervention. It uses a "gap" in current scientific knowledge as "evidence" for God.
Moving the Goalposts
Example:
Theist: "Evolution is fake. Show me an example of something evolving." Skeptic: "Look at the antibiotic resistance in bacteria." Theist: "That's just microevolution. Now show me a change in kind (macroevolution)."
Explanation:
Changing the criteria for "proof" or the requirements of an argument after the original requirements have been met, in order to avoid conceding the point.
No True Scotsman
Example:
"No Christian would ever commit a mass shooting." Skeptic: "But that shooter claimed to be a Christian." Theist: "Well, he wasn't a true Christian."
Explanation:
Protecting a universal generalization from counter-examples by changing the definition of the group to exclude the counter-example.
Pascal's Wager
Example:
Even if you aren't sure God exists, you should act as if He does. If you're wrong, you lose nothing. But if you're right and you didn't believe, you'll spend eternity in hell.
Explanation:
A pragmatic gamble arguing that it is "safer" to believe in God because the potential reward (heaven) is infinite and the punishment (hell) is infinite.
Shifting the Burden of Proof
Example:
I don't have to prove God exists; you have to prove to me that He doesn't.
Explanation:
Attempting to make the skeptic prove a negative (that God doesn't exist) rather than the believer proving their positive claim. The burden of proof always lies with the person making the claim.
Slippery Slope
Example:
If we allow children to question the morality of their church, they'll eventually reject all morality and become criminals.
Explanation:
Claiming that a relatively small first step will inevitably lead to a chain of related (and typically negative) events without providing evidence.
Special Pleading
Example:
Everything that exists must have a cause. Therefore, the universe must have a cause. But God does not need a cause because He is eternal.
Explanation:
Applying a rule or standard to everything except for one specific case, without providing a valid justification for why that case is exempt.
Straw Man
Example:
Person A: "We should have stricter gun regulations"
Person B: “So you want to take away everyone’s guns and leave people defenseless?”
Explanation:
This misrepresents the opponent’s argument into an exaggerated or distorted version, making it easier to attack.
Survivorship Bias
Example:
My grandmother prayed every day and lived to be 102; therefore, prayer is an effective way to extend your life.
Explanation:
Focusing on the people or things that "survived" a process and mistakenly attributing their success to a specific cause, while ignoring all those who failed.
Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy
Example:
This Bible verse mentions a 'great city falling,' and since New York suffered a tragedy, this proves the Bible predicted 9/11.
Explanation:
Cherry-picking a cluster of data to suit an argument, or finding a pattern to fit a presumption.
Unfalsifiability
Example:
God exists, but He chooses to remain hidden from those who aren't 'spiritually ready' to see Him.
Explanation:
Formulating a claim in such a way that it cannot be proven false regardless of the evidence.
Watchmaker Analogy (Argument from Design)
Example:
If you found a watch on a beach, you'd know it had a designer because of its complexity. The human eye is far more complex than a watch, so it must also have a designer.
Explanation:
Arguing that because complex man-made objects require a designer, complex natural objects must also require a designer. This is a false analogy.