How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

Fallacies: alphabetic list (full list)

Disciplines > Argument > Fallacies alphabetic list

Fallacies are statements that are logically false, but which often appear to be true. Here are most of the known fallacies, in alphabetic order (see also the unique list of fallacies, which is shortened by removing the alternative names):

• Absurd Extrapolation: see Slippery Slope
• Abusive Ad Hominem: see Attack the person
• Accent: Emphasis that changes the meaning of the sentence.
• Accident: A general rule used to explain a specific case not covered by it.
• Ad Antiquitatem: see Appeal to Tradition
• Ad Baculum: see Appeal to Fear
• Ad Hominem: see Attack the person
• Ad Hominem Abusive: see Attack the person
• Ad Hominem Tu Quoque: See Personal Inconsistency
• Ad Ignorantium: see Argument from Ignorance
• Ad Metum: see Appeal to Fear
• Ad Misericordiam: see Appeal to Pity
• Ad Nauseam: see Repetition
• Ad Novitam: see Appeal to Novelty
• Ad Numeram: see Appeal to Common Practice
• Ad Populum: see Appeal to Common Belief or Bandwagon
• Ad Ridiculum: see Appeal to Ridicule
• Ad Verecundiam: see Appeal to Authority
• Affirming the Consequent: If A then B. B is true, so A is true.
• Alleged Certainty: see Assertion
• Anger: Using anger as a weapon.
• Amphibology: see Amphiboly
• Amphiboly: A sentence has two different meanings.
• Appeal to Authority: Referencing an 'expert'.
• Appeal to Belief: see Appeal to Common Belief.
• Appeal to Common Belief: If others believe it to be true, it must be true.
• Appeal to Common Practice: If others do it, it must be ok to do it too.
• Appeal to Consequences of a Belief: see Wishful thinking
• Appeal to Emotion: If it feels good, it must be true.
• Appeal to Fear: Gaining compliance through threat.
• Appeal to Flattery: Make them feel good.
• Appeal to Force: see Appeal to Fear
• Appeal to Ignorance: see Argument from Ignorance.
• Appeal to Majority: see Common Belief
• Argument from Ignorance: Accepting circumstantial evidence.
• Appeal to Novelty: Newer is better.
• Appeal to Pity: Going for the sympathy vote.
• Appeal to Popularity: see Appeal to Common Belief
• Appeal to Ridicule: Mocking the other person's claim.
• Appeal to Spite: Play on their negative feelings for others.
• Appeal to Sympathy: see Appeal to Pity
• Appeal to Tradition: It has always been done this way, so this way is right.
• Appeal to Trust: Trust me, I'm a doctor.
• Argument from Ignorance: Accepting circumstantial evidence.
• Assertion: What I say is true.
• Attack the Person: Distracting them from their argument.
• Bandwagon: see Appeal to Common Belief
• Begging the Question: Circular reasoning to prove assumed premise.
• Biased Sample: see Unrepresentative Sample
• Bifurcation: see False Dilemma
• Black and White Thinking: see Excluded Middle
• Burden of proof: see Argument from Ignorance
• Butterfly Logic: How people often argue.
• Canceling Hypotheses: see Conspiracy Theory
• Chicken and Egg argument: see Begging the Question
• Circular Definition: see Begging the Question
• Circular Reasoning: see Begging the Question
• Circulus in Demonstrando: see Begging the Question
• Circumstantial Ad Hominem: see Attack the person
• Complex Question: two questions, one answer allowed.
• Composition: Generalizing from a few to the whole set.
• Concretism: see Reification
• Consequences: see Appeal to Fear
• Conspiracy Theory: Reframe refutation as further proof.
• Converse Accident: see Hasty Generalization
• Cum Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc: see False Cause
• Denying the Antecedent: If A then B. A is false, so B is false.
• Destroying the Exception: see Accident
• Dicto Simpliciter: see Accident
• Discredit: see Poisoning the Well
• Division: Assuming the parts have the characteristics of the whole.
• Double Bind: see Complex Question
• Ecological fallacy: Conclusion about individual from group data.
• Exception fallacy: Conclusions about group from individual data.
• Either/Or: see False Dilemma
• Emphasis: see Accent
• Equivocation: A single word with more than one meaning.
• Excluded Middle: Only extreme views are valid.
• Fallacy of Exclusion: see Unrepresentative Sample
• False Analogy: X has property Y. Z is like X. So Z has property Y.
• False Cause: A causes B (but no proof).
• False Compromise: Extreme views are wrong. The middle way is right.
• False Dichotomy: see False Dilemma or Excluded Middle
• False Dilemma: Choice is A or B. Rejecting A is selecting B.
• False Division: see Division
• False Effect: A is assumed to cause B. B is proven wrong, so A is wrong.
• False Metaphor: see False Analogy
• False Question: see Complex Question
• Faulty Induction: see Composition
• Faulty Deduction: see Division
• Four Terms: All A is B. All C is D. So all A is D.
• From Ignorance: see Argument from ignorance
• Gambler's Fallacy: Chance can be predicted.
• Generalization: see Composition
• Hasty Generalization: Generalizing from too-small a sample.
• Hasty Induction: see Hasty Generalization
• Hypostatisation: see Reification
• Ignorance of Refutation: see Missing the Point
• Ignoratio Elenchi: see Missing the Point
• Illicit Major: All X is Y. No P (which is a subset of Y) is X. Therefore no P is Y.
• Illicit Minor: All X are Y. All X are P. Therefore all P are Y.
• In a Certain Respect and Simply: Extending assumed boundaries too far.
• Inconsistency: see Logical Inconsistency
• Inductive Generalization: see Hasty Generalization
• Insignificance: Making a minor cause seem major.
• Insufficient Sample: see Hasty Generalization
• Insufficient Statistics: see Hasty Generalization
• In Terrorem: see Appeal to Fear
• Irrelevant Conclusion: see Missing the Point
• Leaping to Conclusion: see Hasty Generalization
• Loaded Question: see Complex Question
• Logical Inconsistency: Arguments that contradict one another.
• Lonely Fact: see Hasty Generalization
• Many Questions: overloading them with lots of questions.
• Misleading Vividness: a memorable few events prove high probability.
• Misplaced Concreteness: see Reification
• Missing the Point: Drawing the wrong conclusion.
• Nagging: see Repetition
• Non Causa Pro Causa: see False Effect
• Non Sequitur: See Affirming the Consequent, Denying the Antecedent or Missing the Point.
• Petitio Principii: see Begging the Question
• Personal Inconsistency: Past words or deeds do not match claim.
• Plurium Interrogationum: see Many Questions
• Poisoning the Well: Discrediting the person before they speak.
• Polarization: see Excluded Middle
• Post Hoc: X follows Y. Therefore X is caused by Y.
• Post hoc, ergo propter hoc: see Post Hoc
• Questionable Cause: see False Cause
• Reasoning in a Circle: see Begging the Question
• Red Herring: Distracting with an irrelevancy.
• Reductio ad Absurdum: A false X is silly, so X is true.
• Reification: Treating a concept as concrete reality.
• Repetition: Repeating something makes it more true.
• Scare Tactics: see Appeal to Fear
• Secundum quid et simpliciter: see In a Certain Respect and Simply
• Slippery Slope: Loosely connected statements with ridiculous conclusion.
• Social Conformance: Agree with me or be socially isolated.
• Splitting the Difference: see False Compromise
• Statistical Generalization: see Hasty Generalization
• Strawman: Attack a weak argument used by the other person.
• Style over Substance: An attractive presentation makes it more right.
• Sweeping Generalization: see Accident
• Undistributed Middle: All A is B. All C is B. Therefore all C is A.
• Unrepresentative Sample: What is true about any sample is also true about the population.
• Value of Community: see Appeal to Common Belief
• Weak Analogy: see False Analogy
• Wishful Thinking: A is true because I want it to be true.
• You too: See Personal Inconsistency

See also

Unique alphabetic list of Fallacies

Fallacies in Latin

Aristotle's 13 fallacies