Logical Fallacy

Definition and Example of a Logical Fallacy

Jun 24, 2007 Geoffrey Hineman

A logical fallacy is a collapse in logic often used in debate to mislead or distract people from the real issue. This article will show you examples of a logical fallacy.

Definition of Logical Fallacy

A logical fallacy is an element of an argument that is flawed, essentially rendering the line of reasoning, if not the entire argument, invalid.

Examples of Logical Fallacy

Logical Fallacy takes many different forms. Indeed, just watch a political debate and you are bound to find a red herring or an ad hominem fallacy before too long. Let's take a look at some of the most popular forms of logical fallacy.

Post Hoc: Latin for “After this, therefore because of this,” post hoc is an example of a logical fallacy that tries to assert a cause and effect relationship simply because one event preceded another. The fallacy is in neglecting other relevant information in the relationship.

Non-Sequitur: From the Latin for “Does not follow,” a non-sequitur logical fallacy is even more obvious than post hoc in that it tries to draw a conclusion between two events that are not even relative.

Ad Hominum: Translated from the Latin for, “To the man,” an ad hominum argument is just that. When an argument starts getting personal and attacks are made against a person, rather than to support an argument, that is an ad hominum logical fallacy. In any situation, mudslinging is a poor substitute for a well-reasoned argument.

Appeals to Questionable or Faulty Authority: When an argument or article is based around information that is cited in manners such as, “According to one source,” or “Studies show,” this is an example of an appeal to a questionable of faulty authority. Legitimate sources should always be cited; otherwise they may seem deceptive.

Begging the Question: This logical fallacy, at its root, involves failure to prove a debatable point. So, instead, it expects followers to accept a common premise on a point that is controversial, such as Prayer in Schools vs. The Constitution.

False Analogy: This logical fallacy disregards significant dissimilarities and wrongly implies that, because two items are similar in some respects that they are, therefore, similar in all respects. For an example of the logical fallacy, comparing the health risks of marijuana use and tobacco use and finding some similarities does not mean they pose the same risks in other aspects, such as using them while driving.

The Either/Or Fallacy (False Dichotomy): This logical fallacy occurs when an argument assumes a problem only has two dichotomous or opposing outcomes, ignoring other possible outcomes.

Red Herring: A red herring is an intentional digression from an issue. For instance, in an argument regarding condoms in school, one may try to argue that parents should be responsible for providing their children with sexually-related information. While that may be true, it does address the issue of whether condoms should be available in schools.

These are just a few examples of logical fallacy. On a related note, also be aware of inclusive terms such as: all, always, never, and none. These inclusive terms can be powerful if they are correctly. Often, however, they are not used correctly, and they can let you know an example of a logical fallacy is about to follow.

The copyright of the article Logical Fallacy in Academic Writing is owned by Geoffrey Hineman. Permission to republish Logical Fallacy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.