Name:______________________________________________
What Are Logical Fallacies?
Logical fallacies are errors in reasoning that undermine the logic of an argument. In any
discourse where you are trying to support a statement with logic and evidence, avoiding these
pitfalls will improve the strength of your argument.
In a VALID argument, valid premises support the conclusion:
Whichever team scores the most points wins the game.
The red team scored more points than the blue team.
Therefore, the red team wins the game.
FAULTY arguments occur when the premises are incorrect. In the example above, not all
games are won that way. If you were playing Uno, the winner of the game would be the one
who scored the fewest points overall. Faulty arguments can also occur when the conclusion
does not follow the premises.
Example: Cats are very good pets. Penny is a good pet. Therefore, Penny is a cat.
A list of some of the common Errors of Faulty Logic appears below. These refer to situations
in which a conclusion is not supported by sound reasons.
1. False Cause - The writer implies that because one event follows another in time the first
event causes the second. The relationship between events is oversimplified.
Ex.: I don’t wash my car because every time I do, it rains.
2. Slippery Slope - This occurs when a person proposes that one change will
inevitably lead to another, like a domino effect. Usually the effect is something
bad or undesirable.
Example: If students do not have a dress code then they will wear
outrageous things, and some might come to school naked.
3. Band Wagon - The basic fallacy of democracy, that popular ideas are
necessarily right.
Example: (1919) Most people don't believe that women should be allowed to
vote, therefore it must be the right decision.
4. Begging the Question (Circular Reasoning)- Making a claim and then arguing for the claim
using statements that are the equivalent of the original claim.
Example: Namibia is the most beautiful country because it has the prettiest landscape.
