{"id":102,"date":"2026-05-11T14:24:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanlearning.us\/afn\/?p=102"},"modified":"2026-05-11T14:25:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:25:16","slug":"debate-fallacies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanlearning.us\/afn\/debate-fallacies\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t play their game – Logical Fallacies"},"content":{"rendered":"

From our archives<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Instead of falling into the *you attacked me… NO YOU attacked ME!<\/strong><\/em>* type of thing. \u00a0Good guidance for any debater not just an apologist.<\/p>\n

There are different kinds of logical fallacies that people make in presenting their positions.\u00a0 Below is a list of some of the major fallacies.\u00a0 It is a good idea to be familiar with them so that you can point them out in a discussion thereby focusing the issues where they belong while exposing error.<\/p>\n

It is true that during a debate on an issue, if you simply point out to your “opponent” a logical fallacy that he\/she has just made, it generally gives you the upper hand.\u00a0 But then, merely having the upper hand is not the goal. Truth is.\u00a0 Nevertheless, it is logical fallacies that hide the truth.\u00a0 So, pointing them out is very useful.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Ad hominim – Attacking the individual instead of the argument.\n
      \n
    1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 You are so stupid you argument couldn’t possibly be true.<\/li>\n
    2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 I figured that you couldn’t possibly get it right, so I ignored your comment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    3. Appeal to force – The hearer is told that something bad will happen to him if he does not accept the argument.\n
        \n
      1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 If you don’t want to get beat up, you will agree with what I say.<\/li>\n
      2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 Convert or die.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
      3. Appeal to pity – The hearer is urged to accept the argument based upon an appeal to emotions, sympathy, etc.\n
          \n
        1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 You owe me big time because I really stuck my neck out for you.<\/li>\n
        2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 Oh come on, I’ve been sick.\u00a0 That’s why I missed the deadline.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
        3. Appeal to the popular – the hearer is urged to accept a position because a majority of people hold to it.\n
            \n
          1. Example:\u00a0 The majority of people like soda.\u00a0 Therefore, soda is good.<\/li>\n
          2. Example:\u00a0 Everyone else is doing it.\u00a0 Why shouldn’t you?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
          3. Appeal to tradition – trying to get someone to accept something because it has been done or believed for a long time.\n
              \n
            1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 This is the way we’ve always done it. Therefore, it is the right way.<\/li>\n
            2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 The Catholic church’s tradition demonstrates that this doctrine is true.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
            3. Begging the Question – Assuming the thing to be true that you are trying to prove.\u00a0 It is circular.\n
                \n
              1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 God exists because the Bible says so.\u00a0 The Bible is inspired.\u00a0 Therefore, we know that God exists.<\/li>\n
              2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 I am a good worker because Frank says so.\u00a0 How can we trust Frank?\u00a0 Simple.\u00a0 I will vouch for him.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
              3. Cause and Effect – assuming that the effect is related to a cause because the events occur together.\n
                  \n
                1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 When the rooster crows, the sun rises.\u00a0 Therefore, the rooster causes the sun to rise.<\/li>\n
                2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 When the fuel light goes on in my car, I soon run out of gas.\u00a0 Therefore, the fuel light causes my car to run out of gas.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                3. Circular Argument – see Begging the Question<\/li>\n
                4. Division – assuming that what is true of the whole is true for the parts.\n
                    \n
                  1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 That car is blue.\u00a0 Therefore, its engine is blue.<\/li>\n
                  2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 Your family is weird.\u00a0 That means that you are weird too.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                  3. Equivocation – The same term is used in an argument in different places but the word has different meanings.\n
                      \n
                    1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.\u00a0 Therefore, a bird is worth more than President Bush.<\/li>\n
                    2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 Evolution states that one species can change into another.\u00a0 We see that cars have evolved into different styles.\u00a0 Therefore, since evolution is a fact in cars, it is true in species.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                    3. False Dilemma – Two choices are given when in actuality there could be more choices possible.\n
                        \n
                      1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 You either did knock the glass over or you did not.\u00a0 Which is it?<\/li>\n
                      2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 Do you still beat your wife?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                      3. Genetic Fallacy – The attempt to endorse or disqualify a claim because of the origin or irrelevant history of the claim\n
                          \n
                        1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 The Nazi regime developed the Volkswagen Beetle.\u00a0 Therefore, you should not by a VW Beetle because of who started it.<\/li>\n
                        2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 Frank’s just got out of jail last year and since it was his idea to start the hardware store, I can’t trust him.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                        3. Guilt by Association – Rejecting an argument or claim because the person proposing it likes someone is disliked by another.\n
                            \n
                          1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 Hitler liked dogs.\u00a0 Therefore dogs are bad.<\/li>\n
                          2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 Your friend is a thief.\u00a0 Therefore, I cannot trust you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                          3. Non Sequitar – Comments or information that do not logically follow from a premise or the conclusion.\n
                              \n
                            1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 We know why it rained today, because I washed my car.<\/li>\n
                            2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 I don’t care what you say.\u00a0 We don’t need any more bookshelves.\u00a0 As long as the carpet is clean, we are fine.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                            3. Poisoning the well – Presenting negative information about a person before he\/she speaks so as to discredit the person’s argument.\n
                                \n
                              1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 Frank is pompous, arrogant, and thinks he knows everything.\u00a0 So, let’s hear what Frank has to say about the subject.<\/li>\n
                              2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 Don’t listen to him because he is a loser.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                              3. Red Herring – The introduction of a topic not related to the subject at hand.\n
                                  \n
                                1. Example<\/u>: I know your car isn’t working right.\u00a0 But, if you had gone to the store one day earlier, you’d not be having problems.<\/li>\n
                                2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 I know I forgot to deposit the check into the bank yesterday.\u00a0 But, nothing I do pleases you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                3. Special Pleading (double standard) – Applying a different standard to another that is applied to oneself.\n
                                    \n
                                  1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 You can’t possibly understand menopause because you are a man.<\/li>\n
                                  2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 Those rules don’t apply to me since since I am older than you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                  3. Straw Man Argument – Producing an argument to attack that is a weaker representation of the truth.\n
                                      \n
                                    1. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 The government doesn’t take care of the poor because it doesn’t have a tax specifically to support the poor.<\/li>\n
                                    2. Example<\/u>:\u00a0 We know that evolution is false because we did not evolve from monkeys.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                      Nik Mouser<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                      From our archives Instead of falling into the *you attacked me… NO YOU attacked ME!* type of thing. \u00a0Good guidance for any debater not just…<\/p>\n

                                      Continue readingDon’t play their game – Logical Fallacies<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-opinion","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanlearning.us\/afn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanlearning.us\/afn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanlearning.us\/afn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanlearning.us\/afn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanlearning.us\/afn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/americanlearning.us\/afn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105,"href":"https:\/\/americanlearning.us\/afn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions\/105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanlearning.us\/afn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanlearning.us\/afn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanlearning.us\/afn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}