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

Fallacies: alphabetic list (unique)

Disciplines > Argument > Fallacies alphabetic list

Fallacies are statements that are logically false, but which often appear to be true. Here iare most of the known fallacies, in alphabetic order (see also the Full alphabetic list of Fallacies to see the alternative names that are also used):

Accent: Emphasis that changes the meaning of the sentence.
Accident: A general rule used to explain a specific case not covered by it.
Affirming the Consequent: If A then B. B is true, so A is true.
Amphiboly: A sentence has two different meanings.
Appeal to Authority: Referencing an 'expert'.
Appeal to Common Belief: If others believe it to be true, it must be true.
Appeal to Common Practice: If others do it, it must be ok to do it too.
Appeal to Fear: Gaining compliance through threat.
Appeal to Flattery: Make them feel good.
Appeal to Emotion: If it feels good, it must be true.
Appeal to Novelty: Newer is better.
Appeal to Pity: Going for the sympathy vote.
Appeal to Ridicule: Mocking the other person's claim.
Appeal to Tradition: It has always been done this way, so this way is right.
Argument from Ignorance: Accepting circumstantial evidence.
Assertion: What I say is true.
Attack the Person: Distracting them from their argument.
Begging the Question: Circular reasoning to prove assumed premise.
Complex Question: two questions, one answer allowed.
Composition: Generalizing from a few to the whole set.
Conspiracy Theory: Reframe refutation as further proof.
Denying the Antecedent: If A then B. A is false, so B is false.
Division: Assuming the parts have the characteristics of the whole.
Equivocation: A single word with more than one meaning.
Excluded Middle: Only extreme views are valid.
False Analogy: X has property Y. Z is like X. So Z has property Y.
False Cause: A causes B (but no 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.
Four Terms: All A is B. All C is D. So all A is D.
Gambler's Fallacy: Chance can be predicted.
Hasty Generalization: Generalizing from too-small a sample.
Illicit Major: All X is Y. No P (which is a subset of Y) is X. Therefore no P is Y.
Illicit Minor: All X are Y. All X are P. Therefore all P are Y.
In a Certain Respect and Simply: Extending assumed boundaries too far.
Insignificance: Making a minor cause seem major.
Many Questions: overloading them with lots of questions.
Missing the Point: Drawing the wrong conclusion.
Personal Inconsistency: Past words or deeds do not match claim.
Poisoning the Well: Discrediting the person before they speak.
Post Hoc: X follows Y. Therefore X is caused by Y.
Red Herring: Distracting with an irrelevancy.
Reification: Treating a concept as concrete reality.
Repetition: Repeating something makes it more true.
Slippery Slope: Loosely connected statements with ridiculous conclusion.
Social Conformance: Agree with me or be socially isolated.
Strawman: Attack a weak argument used by the other person.
Style over Substance: An attractive presentation makes it more right.
Undistributed Middle: All A is B. All C is B. Therefore all C is A.
Unrepresentative Sample: What is true about any sample is also true about the population.
Wishful Thinking: A is true because I want it to be true.

Fallacies: alphabetic list (unique)

See also