Common Fallacies in Arguments

Unwarranted Premises

An argument that begins from false or suspect premises

Ambiguities

When an argument could have multiple different conclusions

Begging the Question

When an argument avoids having to confront the question at hand directly

Equivocation

When a word has one or more meanings

Complex Question

Poses question that has not been proven as rhetorical

Amphiboly

Sentence can be interpreted with different meanings

False Dichotomy

Poses argument as one side or another with no middle ground

Composition

Moving something from a part to the whole illicitly

Division

Moving something from the whole to a part illicitly

Straw Man

Misinterpreting opposition’s argument to weaken it

Red Herring

An attempt to change the subject of an argument so as to not have to defend a point

Hasty Generalization, Small Sample

Illicitly generalizing from some to all, illicit because the sample is too small

Hasty Generalization, Unrepresentative Sample

Illicitly generalizing from some to all, illicit because the sample doesn't represent the population

Accident

Applying a truth about the whole to a single member of a population

Ad Hominum Abusive

Making the argument personal by attacking the opposition's persona, ideals, etc

Ad Hominum Circumstantial

Making the argument personal by attacking the opposition's motives behind the argument

Ad Hominum, Tu Quoque

Making the argument personal by calling out the opposition for being hypocritical (not practicing what they preach)

Ignorance

Fallacy in thinking no proof of X implies not X

Ad Populum

Appeal to the people, groupthink

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

Believing that temporal succession implies a causal relation: after this, therefore because of this

Appeal to Illegitimate Authority

Relying on the testimony of a false authority

Non Cause Pro Causa

Not the cause for the cause, thinking A causes B when B actually causes A

Appeal to Emotion

trying to replace the force of evidence and reasons with emotion

Oversimplified Cause

Identifying any one of many causes as the only cause

Suppressed Evidence

Deliberately omitting information that would undermine the argument

Slippery Slope

The idea that this will lead to that, which leads to another thing, and then to an extreme outcome

Appeal to Force

When an arguer resorts to threats or violence

Weak Analogy

The thinking that because A is like B, and B has the property C, A also has the property C

Missing the Point

Failing to draw the correct conclusion from the premises

Affirming the Consequent

Incorrect thinking that if A then B, and B so A

Denying the Antecedent

Incorrect thinking that if A then B and not A so not B

Disjunctive Fallacy

Assuming exclusive disjunction when it could be inclusive, based off different meanings of the word "or"

Quantifier Switching

Changing quantifier words out for each other, e.g. some, all, only

Not Hopping

Incorrectly moving the word "not" around a sentence, changing the meaning of the sentence in the process

Obscurantism

trying to makes one’s own argument appear stronger than it is using vague language