Difference between revisions of "Common fallacies"

Revision as of 18:38, January 17, 2009

Common fallacies are arguments that have a logical fallacy inherent in them, yet are still commonly accepted by people who:

• have difficulties with abstract thinking
• are young students, or are adults unwilling to reconsider opinions they formed as students
• exercise their free will to embrace fallacies without concern for whether they are flawed

Examples of common fallacies are:

• a theory should be accepted until a better alternative is found
• rates of recession, decay or growth observed today are somehow constant for extrapolation backwards in time
• higher taxes must produce more revenue for the government
• fewer guns must reduce the rate of crime
• choice is somehow meaningful regardless of whether it is informed
• human thought can answer any question
• loaded questions: embodies an assumption that, if answered, indicates an implied agreement. (e.g., Have you stopped beating your wife yet?)
• Ad Hominem: arguments that focus on irrelevant personal attributes of an opponent, hoping to divert attention from the issue being discussed or the content of an opponents argument.
• Guilt By Association: hoping to discredit a person by associating them with generally disliked persons who also hold their views, or rejecting an idea because a generally disliked person accepts it.
• The Hitler Card: A version of Guilt by Association where an idea is considered false because Hitler believed it, or a person is discredited because Hitler had a view in common with them.

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