Entry #8: Logical Fallacies

      A logical fallacy is a flaw in the structure of a deductive argument which renders the argument invalid. A lot of people have some basic knowledge of logical fallacies and can easily spot some of them in an argument. There are over 10 logical fallacies but in this post, I will discuss 6 of them.

Appeal to authority

     Appeal to authority is when someone claims that something is true because it is believed by someone who is said to be an authority on the subject.

Person A claims X. Person A is considered an authority on the subject, therefore X must be true.

Begging the question

This is an argument whose premises assumes that the conclusion is true.

Person A claims that P is because of Q and Q is because of P

Red herring

      A red herring is a distraction from the main topic and trying to make your opponent and or audience focus on something else.

Straw man

A straw man fallacy is when someone misrepresents an argument to make it easier to defeat.

Ad Homenim

Ad Homenim is attacking a persons argument by insulting the person

False dilemma

      A false dilemma is when a limited number of choices are presented when more possibilities exist.