How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

Distraction Fallacies

Disciplines > Argument > Fallacies > Distraction Fallacies

One way of winning an argument is to distract the person from the real point, leading them up the garden path of a side issue or something completely irrelevant to the real subject. The main argument may thus never be completed to a logical conclusion, especially if agreeing with the side issue can be substituted for the real agreement.

Appeal to Authority: Referencing an 'expert'.
Appeal to Emotion: If it feels good, it must be true.
Appeal to Ridicule: Mocking the other person's claim.
Attack the Person: Distracting them from their argument.
Complex Question: two questions, one answer allowed.
Conspiracy Theory: Reframe refutation as further proof.
False Compromise: Extreme views are wrong. The middle way is right.
False Effect: A is assumed to cause B. B is proven wrong, so A is wrong.
False Dilemma: Choice is A or B. Rejecting A is selecting B.
Insignificance: Making a minor cause seem major.
Many Questions: overloading them with lots of questions.
Poisoning the Well: Discrediting the person before they speak.
Red Herring: Distracting with an irrelevancy.
Repetition: Repeating something makes it more true.
Strawman: Attack a weak argument used by the other person.
Style over Substance: An attractive presentation makes it more right.

Distraction Fallacies

See also