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.

Reductio ad Absurdum: A false X is silly, so X is true.

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.

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Distraction Fallacies

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