We’re approaching the finish line in the campaign season and the news and political ads are getting tiresome. Here’s a challenge to make them interesting again.
Following is a list of 15 logical fallacies. As you consume “news” over the next month, see if you can find examples of all of them. Some will be easy to spot; others, not so much, but most likely still there.
Get your coffee group, your walking group, coworkers or friends to listen and search with you. Maybe you’ll want to make it a competition – last one to find them all buys coffee. Give bonus points to people who find examples from both Republican and Democrat candidates.
This list of logical fallacies came from my sister, whose kids learned about them in a theology class at their Catholic high school. I don’t remember my offspring being exposed to this, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t. So, maybe it’s review for you, or maybe it’s a new way of considering what you hear and read. Either way, I bet it will spark some conversation.
LOGICAL FALLACIES
Ad hominem: Attacking a person’s character instead of their argument.
Anecdotal: Using an isolated example instead of a valid argument.
Appeal to authority: Assuming something to be true because an authority says it is.
Appeal to emotion: Using an emotional response in place of a valid argument.
Bandwagon: Claiming that since a premise is popular, it must be true.
Begging the question: Arguing a position by assuming one of its premises is true.
Burden of proof reversal: Laying the burden of proof onto the maker of the claim.
Fallacy fallacy: Presuming a claim to be false because a fallacy has been committed.
False cause: Presuming a relationship between two things proves one caused the other.
False dichotomy: Reducing the argument down to two possibilities when others exist.
Hasty generalization: Using a small sample to represent the whole of a population.
Loaded question: A question which, if answered, makes the opponent appear guilty.
Middle ground: Assuming a center point between two extremes must contain the truth.
Personal incredulity: Assuming a claim is false because it is difficult to understand.
Strawman: Misrepresenting a person’s argument in order to make it easier to attack.
