If you want to avoid being deceived, here are 5 powerful logical fallacies you should know:
Plain Folks Fallacy
When someone attempts to convince an audience that they, and their ideas, are βof the peopleβ and that they are an Average Joe.
They try to convince the audience that they share common goals and should therefore agree with them.
When someone attempts to convince an audience that they, and their ideas, are βof the peopleβ and that they are an Average Joe.
They try to convince the audience that they share common goals and should therefore agree with them.
Poisoning the Well
Presenting negative information that is irrelevant before presenting an argument, which makes that argument, or person, seem untrustworthy.
"Before you listen to what he has to say, may I remind you that he has been in jail."
Also called a smear tactic.
Presenting negative information that is irrelevant before presenting an argument, which makes that argument, or person, seem untrustworthy.
"Before you listen to what he has to say, may I remind you that he has been in jail."
Also called a smear tactic.
Appeal to Consequences
A type of appeal to emotion.
It's an argument that attempts to prove a premise true or false because the consequences of it being true or false are desirable or undesirable.
The desirability of a premise's consequence does not make it true or false.
A type of appeal to emotion.
It's an argument that attempts to prove a premise true or false because the consequences of it being true or false are desirable or undesirable.
The desirability of a premise's consequence does not make it true or false.
Lokiβs Wager
The unreasonable insistence that a concept cannot be defined, and therefore cannot be discussed.
Can be used to avoid contentious arguments entirely and 'kick' the can down the road.
Avoiding it is critical to making decisions rather than twisting in semantics.
The unreasonable insistence that a concept cannot be defined, and therefore cannot be discussed.
Can be used to avoid contentious arguments entirely and 'kick' the can down the road.
Avoiding it is critical to making decisions rather than twisting in semantics.
Hasty Generalisation
Closely related to stereotyping, it involves generalising based on general rules from a sample set of data.
It's when someone makes a claim based on evidence that is too small to be conclusive.
You can't make a claim based on only one or two examples.
Closely related to stereotyping, it involves generalising based on general rules from a sample set of data.
It's when someone makes a claim based on evidence that is too small to be conclusive.
You can't make a claim based on only one or two examples.
That's a list of 5 logical fallacies you should be aware of.
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