Fallacies: How Can We Recognize Bad Arguments and Resist Their Pull?

This pathway develops the idea of background assumptions in reasoning and defines an informal fallacy as an argument that rests on a false background assumption. A variety of common examples, such as ad hominem, appeal to authority, and false dilemma, are introduced by way of the false background belief(s) that they rely upon.

Topics

  • absence of evidence
  • abusive ad hominem
  • ad hominem fallacy
  • affirming the consequent
  • appeal to fear
  • appeal to fear fallacy
  • appeal to force fallacy
  • appeal to ignorance fallacy
  • appeal to the crowd fallacy
  • appeal to unqualified authority fallacy
  • argument
  • authority
  • bad argument
  • bias
  • belief
  • causal factor
  • causal relationship
  • causation
  • cause-effect relationship
  • character
  • circumstances
  • circumstantial ad hominem
  • coercion
  • cognitive bias
  • coincidence
  • compulsion
  • conclusion
  • conclusive evidence
  • confirmation bias
  • controversial ideas
  • correlation
  • credibility
  • deductive reasoning
  • deductive validity
  • determining the cause
  • diverse sample
  • emotional appeal
  • emotions
  • evaluating arguments
  • evidence
  • evidence against a claim
  • evidence for a claim
  • expertise
  • experts
  • fallacies
  • fallacies of irrelevant evidence
  • fallacies of weak evidence
  • fallacious argument
  • fallacy
  • false cause fallacy
  • false conclusion
  • false premise
  • fear
  • force
  • formal fallacy
  • generalization
  • good argument
  • good evidence
  • good reasoning
  • hasty generalization fallacy
  • high school
  • homogenous sample
  • hypothesis
  • inconclusive evidence
  • informal fallacy
  • invalid
  • invalid arguments
  • invalidity
  • irrelevant evidence
  • isolating causal factors
  • logical form
  • manipulation
  • modus ponens
  • motivated reasoning
  • motivations
  • necessity
  • non-experts
  • personal criticism
  • persuasion
  • pity
  • popularity
  • post hoc fallacy
  • post hoc ergo propter hoc
  • predictions
  • premises
  • protective steps
  • qualified authority
  • reasonable prediction
  • reasoning
  • red herring fallacy
  • reliability
  • reliable generalization
  • reliable source
  • representative
  • representative sample
  • sample
  • sample size
  • sample diversity
  • scientific reasoning
  • sequence
  • slippery slope fallacy
  • social status
  • statistics
  • strawman fallacy
  • strength of evidence
  • strong evidence
  • suspension of judgment
  • temporal order
  • temporal sequence
  • threat
  • trustworthiness
  • unqualified authority
  • unreasonable prediction
  • unreliability
  • unreliable source
  • unrepresentative sample
  • valid
  • validity
  • weak evidence
  • widespread belief