Ad Hominem
Attacking the person instead of the argument.
You are wrong because you are an idiot.
Open the breakdownArgument traps
Fallacy Field Guide
Bad reasoning, labeled before it gets a promotion.
Logical fallacies are common reasoning errors that weaken arguments. This guide is built for real rooms: meetings, family debates, comment sections, sales pages, and the paragraph you wrote while very sure you were right.
Straw Man
Misrepresenting someone else's argument so it is easier to attack.
You want school lunches improved? So you think kids deserve luxury dining?
Open the breakdownFalse Dilemma / Either-Or Fallacy
Pretending there are only two options when more exist.
Either support this policy or you hate the country.
Open the breakdownSlippery Slope
Claiming one small step will inevitably lead to disaster without proving the chain.
If we allow this one exception, society will collapse.
Open the breakdownCircular Reasoning
Using the conclusion as proof of itself.
This rule is fair because it is the rule.
Open the breakdownBegging the Question
Assuming the thing you are trying to prove.
This product is the best because superior people choose it.
Open the breakdownAppeal to Authority
Using an authority figure as proof when their expertise is irrelevant, weak, or unsupported.
A celebrity said this supplement works, so it must.
Open the breakdownAppeal to Emotion
Trying to win by triggering fear, pity, anger, or guilt instead of using evidence.
Think of the children, said while the actual policy details quietly leave the room.
Open the breakdownAppeal to Popularity / Bandwagon
Claiming something is true or good because many people believe it.
Everyone uses this app, so it must be the best.
Open the breakdownAppeal to Tradition
Arguing something is right because it has always been done that way.
We have always done it this way, so changing it is wrong.
Open the breakdownAppeal to Novelty
Arguing something is better just because it is new.
This is the latest system, so it must be superior.
Open the breakdownRed Herring
Introducing an irrelevant point to distract from the issue.
Why talk about pollution when taxes are too high?
Open the breakdownWhataboutism
Responding to criticism by pointing at someone else's wrongdoing.
Sure, my side did that, but what about when your side did this?
Open the breakdownTu Quoque / Hypocrisy Fallacy
Dismissing an argument because the person making it does not perfectly follow it.
You said smoking is bad, but you used to smoke.
Open the breakdownHasty Generalization
Making a broad claim from too little evidence.
I met one rude person from that town, so everyone there is rude.
Open the breakdownCherry Picking
Only using evidence that supports your point and ignoring evidence that does not.
Sharing one good review while hiding 200 bad ones.
Open the breakdownPost Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
Assuming that because one thing happened after another, the first caused the second.
I wore lucky socks and we won, so the socks caused the win.
Open the breakdownCorrelation Equals Causation
Assuming two things are causally connected just because they happen together.
People who buy expensive workout gear are fitter, so the clothes make them fit.
Open the breakdownFalse Cause
Blaming the wrong cause for an effect.
The new mayor caused the bad weather.
Open the breakdownLoaded Question
Asking a question that contains a trap or assumption.
Have you stopped lying to your customers?
Open the breakdownNo True Scotsman
Changing the definition of a group to avoid counterexamples.
No real entrepreneur ever fails.
Open the breakdownMoving the Goalposts
Changing the standard of proof after someone meets it.
Okay, you proved that, but now prove this bigger thing.
Open the breakdownSpecial Pleading
Making an exception for your own claim without a good reason.
Rules apply to everyone else, but not in my case.
Open the breakdownGenetic Fallacy
Judging an argument based only on where it came from.
That idea came from a teenager, so it is worthless.
Open the breakdownEquivocation
Using the same word in two different ways to make an argument seem valid.
The sign says fine for parking here, so parking here is fine.
Open the breakdownComposition Fallacy
Assuming what is true of the parts is true of the whole.
Every player is excellent, so the team must be excellent.
Open the breakdownDivision Fallacy
Assuming what is true of the whole is true of each part.
The company is rich, so every employee must be rich.
Open the breakdownAppeal to Ignorance
Claiming something is true because it has not been proven false, or false because it has not been proven true.
No one has disproven this theory, so it must be true.
Open the breakdownBurden of Proof Fallacy
Demanding others disprove your claim instead of you proving it.
Prove my conspiracy theory is wrong.
Open the breakdownMiddle Ground Fallacy
Assuming the truth must be halfway between two positions.
One person says the building has 10 floors, another says 100, so it probably has 55.
Open the breakdownAnecdotal Fallacy
Using a personal story as stronger proof than broader evidence.
My uncle ate bacon every day and lived to 95, so bacon is healthy.
Open the breakdownSunk Cost Fallacy
Continuing something because you have already invested time, money, or effort.
I have spent three years on this bad project, so I have to keep going.
Open the breakdownTexas Sharpshooter Fallacy
Picking patterns after the fact and pretending they were meaningful all along.
Finding random clusters in data and calling them proof.
Open the breakdownAppeal to Nature
Claiming something is good because it is natural, or bad because it is unnatural.
It is natural, so it must be safe.
Open the breakdownPersonal Incredulity
Saying something is false because you personally cannot understand or imagine it.
I do not understand how evolution works, so it cannot be real.
Open the breakdownAd Hoc Rescue
Inventing an explanation to save a claim from being disproven.
The prediction failed because invisible forces interfered.
Open the breakdownFallacy Fallacy
Assuming that because someone made a bad argument, their conclusion must be false.
They defended the idea poorly, so the idea itself is wrong.
Open the breakdownQuestions worth asking
Use the label, then check the room.
Labels are handles, not verdicts. The point is to slow the pattern down enough to choose a grounded next move.
- What claim is actually being made?
- What evidence would change the conclusion?
- Is the reply answering the argument or performing confidence?
- What option, cause, or context has been left out?