Logical Reasoning

- Logical or deductive reasoning involves using a given set of facts or data to deduce other facts by reasoning logically.
It involves drawing specific conclusions based on premises.
Logical Fallacy
- arguments that may sound convincing, but are based on faulty logic and are therefore invalid. They may result from
innocent errors in reasoning, or be used deliberately to mislead others. Taking logical fallacies at face value can lead
you to make poor decisions based on unsound arguments.
Fallacy
- a mistaken belief, especially one based on an unsound argument.
- use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning in the construction of an argument

False Dilemma/ Dichotomy

- A false dilemma (sometimes also referred to as a false dichotomy) is a logical fallacy, which occurs when a limited
number of options are incorrectly presented as being mutually exclusive to one another or as being the only options
that exist, in a situation where that isn't the case. E.g. If we don't order pizza for dinner, we'll have to eat the week-
old spaghetti in the fridge.
- an informal fallacy based on a premise that erroneously limits what options are available.

Appeal to Ignorance
- is the logical fallacy of claiming that a statement must be true because there's no evidence against it. It can look like
this: There are ghosts in our attic; nobody's been able to prove they aren't there. Masha's doing a great job as team
captain since nobody complained about her.

Slippery Slope
- In a slippery slope argument, a course of action is rejected because, with little or no evidence, one insists that it will
lead to a chain reaction resulting in an undesirable end or ends. The slippery slope involves an acceptance of a
succession of events without direct evidence that this course of events will happen..
- is a logical fallacy that claims one event or action will lead to another, more extreme event or action. This could be by
directly causing that follow-up event, setting a precedent for it, or simply creating an environment where that follow-
up event can occur. E.g. If you don’t take honors courses, you won’t get into a good college.

Complex Question
- is the interrogative form of begging the question—when the arguer attempts to persuade by asking a loaded
question.
- seem more like debaters' tricks than like arguments. When used as a debater's trick, the idea is that, since a complex
question cannot be answered (as asked), the opponent is left speechless and stammering. A complex question
qualifies as an argument - and therefore as a fallacious argument - only because some conclusion is drawn from the
opponent's inability to answer the question. E.g. 'Was it exhausting keeping track of all the lies you were telling
people?

Appeal to Force
- This argument uses force, the threat of force, or some other unpleasant backlash to make the audience accept a
conclusion. It commonly appears as a last resort when evidence or rational arguments fail to convince a reader.
- E.g A friend who means a great deal to you desperately wants to be the top runner in the school. Before a track meet,
your friend says to you, 'If you don't let me win the race, I can't be your friend anymore. Letting me win the race
makes sense, don't you think?'

Appeal to Pity
- The argument attempts to persuade by provoking irrelevant feelings of sympathy. Examples: "You should not find the
defendant guilty of murder, since it would break his poor mother's heart to see him sent to jail."
 - appealing to a person's unfortunate circumstance as a way of getting someone to accept a conclusion. For example,
"You need to pass me in this course, since I'll lose my scholarship if you don't."

Appeal to Consequences
- Concluding that an idea or proposition is true or false because the consequences of it being true or false are desirable
or undesirable. The fallacy lies in the fact that the desirability is not related to the truth value of the idea or
proposition.
- E.g "It can never happen to me. If I believed it could, I could never sleep soundly at night."

Bandwagon
- is also sometimes called the appeal to common belief or appeal to the masses because it's all about getting people to
do or think something because “everyone else is doing it” or “everything else thinks this.” Example: Everyone is going
to get the new smart phone when it comes out this weekend.
- fallacy occurs when you appeal to the fact that a large number of people believe the argument you are making. An
example of this is when, as a child, you asked your parents permission to do something and when they said no to your
request you responded with “but all my friends' parents are letting them do it”

Attacking the person

- and this type of fallacy is sometimes called name calling or the personal attack fallacy. This type of fallacy occurs when
someone attacks the person instead of attacking his or her argument.
- examples of when an argument is based on attacking the motive and leads to a faulty conclusion. When my parents
encourage me to attend college and leave home, it's because they want me out of the house. Therefore, I disagree
with them about my need to attend college.

Appeal to Authority
- is the logical fallacy of saying a claim is true simply because an authority figure made it. This authority figure could be
anyone: an instructor, a politician, a well-known academic, an author, or even an individual with experience related to
the claim's subject.
- “As a great scientist, Albert Einstein would have opposed animal experimentation if he were alive today.”

Anonymous Authority
- When an unspecified source is used as evidence for the claim. This is commonly indicated by phrases such as “They
say that...”, “It has been said...”, “I heard that...”, “Studies show...”, or generalized groups such as, “scientists say...”
When we fail to specify a source of the authority, we can’t verify the source, thus the credibility of the argument.
Appeals to anonymous sources are more often than not, a way to fabricate, exaggerate, or misrepresent facts in order
to deceive others into accepting your claim. At times, this deception is done subconsciously -- it might not always be
deliberate.
- You know, they say that if you swallow gum it takes seven years to digest. So whatever you do, don’t swallow the
gum!