User:Livicottle/Fallacy

Slippery slope[edit]
Definition: The arguer claims that a sort of chain reaction, usually ending in some dire consequence, will take place, but in fact there is not enough evidence for that assumption. The arguer asserts that if we take even one step onto the "slippery slope", we will end up sliding all the way to the bottom; they assume we cannot stop halfway down the hill. This mainly occurs when an arguer presents a chain of events without properly linking them, instead at most implying the connection.

Examples of this include the speaker or writer:


 * 1) Diverting the argument to unrelated issues with a red herring (Ignoratio elenchi)
 * 2) Insulting someone's character (argumentum ad hominem)
 * 3) Assuming the conclusion of an argument, a kind of circular reasoning, also called "begging the question" (petitio principii)
 * 4) Making jumps in logic (non sequitur)
 * 5) Identifying a false cause and effect (post hoc ergo propter hoc)
 * 6) Asserting that everyone agrees (argumentum ad populum, bandwagoning)
 * 7) Creating a false dilemma (either-or fallacy) in which the situation is oversimplified, also called false dichotomy
 * 8) Selectively using facts (card stacking)
 * 9) Making false or misleading comparisons (false equivalence and false analogy)
 * 10) Generalizing quickly and sloppily (hasty generalization)
 * 11) Using an argument's connections to other concepts or people to support or refute it, also called "guilt by association" (association fallacy)
 * 12) Claiming that a lack of proof counts as proof (appeal to ignorance)

In humor, errors of reasoning are used for comical purposes. Groucho Marx used fallacies of amphiboly, for instance, to make ironic statements; Gary Larson and Scott Adams employed fallacious reasoning in many of their cartoons. Wes Boyer and Samuel Stoddard have written a humorous essay teaching students how to be persuasive by means of a whole host of informal and formal fallacies.

When someone uses logical fallacies intentionally to mislead in academic, political, or other high-stakes contexts, the breach of trust calls into question the authority and intellectual integrity of that person.


 * Fallacy at PhilPapers
 * Humbug! The skeptic's field guide to spotting fallacies in thinking – textbook on fallacies. scribd.com
 * List of fallacies with clear examples, infidels.org
 * Interactive Syllogistic Machine A web based syllogistic machine for exploring fallacies, figures, and modes of syllogisms.
 * Logical Fallacies and the Art of Debate, csun.edu
 * Stephen Downes Guide to the Logical Fallacies, onegoodmove.org
 * Explain fallacies, what they are and how to avoid them[permanent dead link]
 * Fallacy Files