Logical Fallacies Ad Hom

Fallacies are common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic/reasoning of your argument

These fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points

They are often identified because they lack evidence that supports their claim

They can be used to add humor to an argument when used intentionally

Logical fallacies work against the clean, civil discourse that should be at the heart of argument

Red Herring: when a speaker skips to a new and irrelevant topic in order to avoid the topic of discussion.

Faulty Analogy: whenever the differences in two objects outweigh the similarities. 

Ad Hominem: Latin for “to the man”;refers to diversionary tactics of switching the argument from the issue at hand to the character of the other speaker. 

Straw Man: when a speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example in order to ridicule and refute an opponent’s viewpoint.

Either/Or (False Dilemma): when the speaker presents two extreme options as the only possible choices.

Hasty Generalization: the most common fallacy occurs when evidence is insufficient; meaning there is not enough evidence to support a particular conclusion. 

Circular Reasoning: involved repeating the claim as a way to provide evidence, resulting in no evidence at all.