Categories:
- 🧠 Logical
- 💬 Rhetorical
- 💔 Emotional
| Fallacy Name | Definition / Consequences | AKA | Example | Counter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 💬😠 Ad Hominem | Attacks the person, not the argument. Leads to distraction. | Personal Attack, Name-Calling | "You're wrong because you're ugly." "You're uneducated, so your opinion is invalid." |
Focus on the issue, not the person. |
| 💬🤨 Strawman | Misrepresents an argument. Leads to a weakened debate. | Misrepresentation, Exaggeration | "You want no climate action?" "You believe in gun control? You want to ban all guns." |
Clarify the original argument. |
| 🧠👩⚕️ Appeal to Authority | Uses authority as proof. Can shut down critical thinking. | Argument from Authority, Ipse Dixit | "A doctor said it, so it's true." "The CEO endorses it, so it must be right." |
Look at evidence, not just authority. |
| 💔🧑🤝🧑 Bandwagon | Claims it's true because it's popular. Ignores quality. | Appeal to Popularity, Ad Populum | "Everyone is doing it!" "Most people believe this." |
Focus on evidence, not popularity. |
| 🧠😱 Slippery Slope | Argues that one step will lead to extreme outcome. Causes fear. | Domino Fallacy, Camel's Nose | "If A, then Z will happen." "If we allow this, next everyone will work from home!" |
Analyze each step individually. |
| 💬❓ Red Herring | Distracts from the real issue. Derails conversations. | Distraction, Smoke Screen | "Why care about climate when unemployment exists?" "Why focus on safety when taxes are a bigger issue?" |
Refocus on the original issue. |
| 🧠🍽️ Hasty Generalization | Generalizes based on insufficient evidence. Creates unfair conclusions. | Jumping to Conclusions, Overgeneralization | "My friend got sick, so the restaurant is bad." "Two rude people, so the whole city is rude." |
Gather more evidence before concluding. |
| 💔😢 Appeal to Emotion | Manipulates emotions to win. Ignores logic. | Pathos Appeal, Emotional Appeal | "Think of the children!" "Donate or these animals will die!" |
Stay focused on facts. |
| 🧠⚔️ False Dilemma | Presents only two options. Forces false choice. | Black-and-White Fallacy, Either-Or | "With us or against us." "Cut funding or the program fails." |
Point out alternatives. |
| 🧠🧦 Post Hoc | Assumes correlation equals causation. Misunderstands cause-effect. | False Cause, Correlation/Causation | "My lucky socks caused us to win!" "The new manager caused the profit rise." |
Look for real causality, not coincidence. |
| 🧠📚 Anecdotal Evidence | Uses personal stories instead of facts. Ignores broader data. | Cherry-Picking, Personal Testimony | "My grandma smoked and lived to 90." "I've never crashed, so drunk driving isn't dangerous." |
Focus on data, not isolated cases. |
| 🧠🎯 Texas Sharpshooter | Cherry-picks data to fit a conclusion. Misleads by omission. | Data Dredging, Clustering Illusion | "These recovered patients prove it works!" "The company used one profitable quarter to prove success." |
Consider all data, not just favorable points. |
| 🧠⚖️ Middle Ground | Claims the truth is between extremes. Leads to false compromise. | False Compromise, Golden Mean Fallacy | "Ban all cars vs. no regulations, so ban half." "Vaccines vs. anti-vax – the truth must be in the middle." |
Base conclusions on evidence, not compromise. |
| 🧠🧱 Burden of Proof | Shifts proof to the other side. Leads to unfalsifiable claims. | Reversal of Proof, Shifting Burden | "You can't prove aliens don't exist!" "Prove the company isn't spying on you." |
Ask for evidence from the claimant. |
| 🧠🤯 Personal Incredulity | Rejects something because it's hard to understand. Dismisses complex truths. | Appeal to Ignorance, Incredulity | "I don't get evolution, so it's not real." "Quantum physics is too confusing to be true." |
Look at evidence over personal confusion. |
| 🧠🏴 No True Scotsman | Shifts definition to exclude counterexamples. Invalidates exceptions. | Purity Fallacy, Definitional Retreat | "No true Scotsman would do that." "A real environmentalist wouldn’t drive a car." |
Stick to consistent definitions. |
| 💬🙃 Tu Quoque | Dismisses argument by calling opponent a hypocrite. Avoids the real issue. | Appeal to Hypocrisy, You Too Fallacy | "You smoke too, so you can't criticize me!" "You still drive a car, so how can you care about climate?" |
Focus on the argument, not the opponent. |
| 🧠🤔 The Fallacy Fallacy | Assumes a flawed argument means the conclusion is wrong. Leads to dismissal of valid conclusions. | Fallacist's Fallacy | "You made a strawman, so you're wrong." "Your argument is a false dichotomy, so everything you say is false." |
Address the conclusion separately. |
| 🧠🌀 Equivocation | Uses ambiguous language. Causes confusion. | Doublespeak, Ambiguity Fallacy | "The sign said 'fine for parking,' so it's fine!" "He’s using ‘freedom’ in two different ways." |
Clarify the term and demand consistent use. |
| 🧠🔄 Circular Argument | Repeats claim as proof. Provides no new evidence. | Begging the Question, Vicious Circle | "The Bible is true because it says so." "I'm trustworthy because I tell the truth." |
Ask for external proof or evidence. |
| 💔💸 Sunk Cost Fallacy | Continues something due to past investment. Leads to wasteful decisions. | Investment Fallacy, Escalation of Commitment | "I've already spent so much time on this." "We've spent so much money, we can't stop now." |
Focus on future outcomes, not past investments. |
| 💔😭 Appeal to Pity | Uses sympathy to win support. Manipulates emotions to avoid logic. | Ad Misericordiam, Sob Story | "You must help, or I’ll lose everything!" "If you don't hire me, I'll be homeless!" |
Focus on the facts, not emotional manipulation. |