some of the most common logical fallacies found in online debate & political discourse (a thread by a philosophy graduate)

straw man — oversimplification/misrepresentation of an argument w/ the intention of making it easier to refute

unanimity — (bandwagon) just cause lots of people think it doesn’t make it true. belief ≠ truth

appeal to authority — just because someone in power believes it doesn’t make it true

false dilemma — (mutual exclusivity/black&white) a false either/or argument where there are more than just 2 options

correlation vs causation — just because A and B happened at the same times doesn’t mean A caused B

anecdotal evidence — just because your uncle says it’s true doesn’t mean it is (a broken clock is still right twice a day)

burden of proof — if you’re spouting something outrageous it’s your responsibility to back it up, not the opponent’s job to refute it

personal incredulity — just because you can’t believe it doesn’t make it not true

tu quoque/whataboutism — yes pointing out hypocrisy is necessary but not in an attempt to discredit an opposing argument by answering criticism w/ more criticism (treading water of debate)

ad hominem — falling back on a personal attack, fallacy of relevance, if we’re talking politics and you call me ugly you’ve already lost the argument mate

appeal to ignorance — “we just don’t know!” yeah but you’re not exactly trying to know here? this doesn’t prove any claim to knowledge

slippery slope — because X is happening SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE Z WILL CERTAINLY FOLLOW. no. there are many steps before Z (insufficient evidence that the premises will = outlandish conclusion to avoid taking concrete stance)

circular — when your racist aunt is drunk and keeps coming to the same shit you refuted half an hour ago

red herring — a distraction (often based on sentiment), not relevant enough to be helpful (side topic)

fallacy of sunk costs — “don’t stick with a mistake just because you spent a long time making it” but with a shitty opinion

appeal to pity — if you’re gonna try and make me feel sorry then i’m assuming you have no concrete argument, as applying emotion (persuasion) to an objective discussion

also, remember that just because someone says something confidently, doesn’t automatically make it true i hope this thread helps some of you see through some of the bullshit out there