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Fallacies

A fallacy is the use of faulty reasoning in an argument.

There are formal and informal fallacies:

  • A formal fallacy describes a flaw in the construction of a deductive argument.
  • An informal fallacy describes an error in reasoning.

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McNamara fallacy

This fallacy occurs when decisions are made based on observations or quantitative criteria while ignoring other factors.
Common phrase: "You can't measure that, so it's not important."

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​If-by-whiskey

If-by-whiskey is a fallacy named after a speech given in 1952 by Noah S. Sweat Jr. It is used to conceal a lack of a position or to dodge a tough question. 

If, by whiskey, you mean the brew that causes so many problems, then I'm against it. But if whiskey means the oil of convers...

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Snow job

In this fallacy, when someone doesn't have a strong argument, they will sprout irrelevant facts, numbers, anecdotes and other information to confuse the issue.

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​Slippery slope

This fallacy involves arguing against a position because you think the ideas would start a chain reaction of bad things, even though you don't have evidence to support your claim.

Common phrase: "If we do that, then what's next?"

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Sunk cost fallacy

It happens when someone continues in a course of action, even if evidence shows that it's a mistake.

Common phrase: "We've always done it this way, so we'll keep doing it this way." "I've already invested so much..."

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Ad hoc arguments

This is a common fallacious rhetorical strategy that is difficult to spot.

It occurs when someone's claim is threatened with counter-evidence. They then come up with a rationale to dismiss the counter-evidence in the hope to protect their original claim.

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​"There is no alternative"

This fallacy argues for a specific position because there are no other realistic alternatives.
Common phrase: "What else are we going to do?"

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Appeal to privacy

In this fallacy, someone behaves in a way that negatively affects others but then gets upset when others criticize their behavior. They will reply with a "mind your own business."
For instance, someone who doesn't see a reason to bathe, but then boards a full 10-hour flight.

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False premises and logical fallacies

A logical fallacy is reasoning that contains a flaw.

Many logical fallacies rely on false premises:

  • Appeal to nature - claiming something is good because it is "natural". Some natural things, like cyanide, is very bad for you.

The “perfect solution fallacy”

The Nirvana fallacy is built on faulty reasoning, where an argument assumes that a solution should be rejected because some part of the problem still exists after the solution is applied.

People that fall prey to the Nirvana fallacy assume that a perfect solution ...

The Gish gallop and logical fallacies

Arguments in a Gish gallop often contain various logical fallacies, such as the strawman fallacy which attacks a fabricated argument, or appeals to nature, which claims something is good because it is perceived as natural.

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