This document outlines common logical fallacies used to deceive others in arguments. It provides examples of fallacies such as straw man arguments, false dilemmas, red herrings, ad hominem attacks, slippery slopes, hasty generalizations, bandwagon appeals, circular reasoning, post hoc fallacies, faulty analogies, and appeals to false authorities. The document aims to help people identify and reject deceptive reasoning techniques.

1. Logical Fallacies
Errors in Reasoning that Convince the Unwary

3. MISREPRESENTING YOUR OPPONENT’S
ARGUMENT

4. PRETENDING YOUR OPPONENT’S
WEAKEST ARGUMENT IS THEIR ONLY ONE

5. Son: “Can we get a pet dog?”
Mother: “No”
Son: “Why not? It will protect us as well.”
Mother: “Still, No”
Son: “Why are you leaving us and the home
unprotected?”

6. POST HOC ERGO
PROPTER HOC
JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING HAPPENED FIRST DOESN’T MEANT IT
CAUSED WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

7. POST HOC ERGO
PROPTER HOC
CORRELATION DOESN’T PROVE CAUSATION

8. Rally Caps
don’t
control the
future.

9. Explain

11. Rejecting a
proposal
because it
might—
through a
series of
steps—
cause
something very
bad to happen.

12. "We have to
stop the tuition
increase! The
next thing you
know, they'll be
charging
$40,000 a
semester!"

13. "We have to
stop the tuition
increase! The
next thing you
know, they'll be
charging
$40,000 a
semester!"

14. False
Dilemma
Arguing that there are
only 2 possible
positions:
mine and
something really,
really bad.

15. False
Dilemma
Arguing that there are
only 2 possible
positions:
mine and
something really,
really bad.

16. Ad
Hominem

18. Tu
Quoque

19. Defending
yourself by
accusing your
opponent of
the same flaw

20. Mr. Messner: Stop giving
your students mean
names. That’s
disrespectful.
Me: What? I heard you
call your students
“nematodes” this
morning.

21. Red
Herring
Distracting with
irrelevant
information

23. Circular
Reasoning
Proving your
argument by
assuming your
argument must be
true.

24. Circular
Reasoning
“I have a right to say
what I want, therefore
you shouldn’t try to
silence me.”

25. Faulty
Analogy
Arguing through
metaphor

26. Faulty
Analogy
“Guns are like hammers—
they’re both tools with
metal parts that could be
used to kill someone. And
yet it would be ridiculous
to restrict the purchase of
hammers—so restrictions
on purchasing guns are
equally ridiculous.”

27. Faulty
Analogy

28. Faulty
Analogy
Just because two
situations have similar
characteristics, doesn’t
mean they have ALL of
the same characteristics.

29. Appeal
to
False
Authority
Supporting your
argument with a
source that is not
credible.

30. Appeal
to
False
Authority

31. Hasty
Generalization
Supporting your
argument without
enough evidence

32. Hasty
Generalization
“People
should never
wear hoodies.
Mark
Zuckerberg
wears
hoodies.“

33. Bandwagon
Appeal
Supporting your
argument by
suggesting that it
is popular.

34. Bandwagon
Appeal

35. Logical Fallacies
Red Herring
Ad Hominem
Tu Quoque
Faulty Analogy
Straw man
False Dilemma
Hasty Generalization
Circular Reasoning
Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
Appeal to False Authority
Bandwagon Appeal
Slippery Slope