LEGAL TECHNIQUES FALLACIES MCL MAGHIRANG

DIFFERENT TYPES OF FALLACIES

1. Formal & Informal Fallacies
• A formal fallacy exists because of an error in the structure of the argument. In other words, the
conclusion doesn’t follow from the premises.
• An informal fallacy occurs because of an error in reasoning. Unlike formal fallacies which are
identified through examining the structure of the argument, informal fallacies are identified
through analysis of the content of the premises.
2. Complex Questions Fallacy
• fallacy when the audience does not detect the assumed information implicit in the question
and accepts it as a fact.
• Example:
i. Have you stopped beating your wife?
ii. Did John ever give up his bad habits?
iii. Are you still a heavy drinker?
3. Ad Hominem
• hominem attacks the opponent’s character, motive, or other personal attributes, rather than
attacking the substance of the argument itself in an attempt to undermine or discredit their
argument.
• Example:
i. X is quite an advocate for abortion and other contraceptive devices. But X is just ugly
and bitter, so why should we listen to her?
4. Appeal to Authority
• disputants tend to add strength to their contentions by referring to respected sources or
authorities and explaining their positions on the issues they are discussing. If, however, they try
to substantiate their claims by simply citing a famous person or by appealing to a supposed
authority who really is not much of an expert
• Example:
i. We should not allow the use of abortion and other contraceptive devices. Many
respected people, such as Kris Aquino, have publicly stated their opposition to such
uses.
5. False Syllogism
• A false syllogism draws the wrong conclusion from two premises. It is an incorrect proposition
that forms the basis of an argument or syllogism.
• Example
i. Premise 1: People who have just run a marathon sweat profusely.
Premise 2: You are sweating profusely.
Conclusion: Therefore, you have just run a marathon.
6. Ad Populum
• The appeal to the popularity of a claim as a reason for accepting it. It is also referred to as the
bandwagon fallacy, the appeal to the mob, the democratic fallacy, and the appeal to popularity.
• Example
i. Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief Commercial- This commercial use the catch phrase “Colgate
#1 brand recommended by dentists”. Also, the narrator states that more and more
dentists have recommended Colgate sensitive pro-relief toothpaste. People are being
LEGAL TECHNIQUES FALLACIES MCL MAGHIRANG
encourage to buy since a lot of dentists recommended and commended at how
effective the product is.
7. Poisoning the well
• It is a technique which discredits the other person before they speak. It is applicable to
discrediting the topic or the argument that they may support before it is presented.
• Example:
i. Political Campaign Against Rodrigo Duterte
It was in the middle of the 2016 Presidential Elections when an advertisement against
then leading candidate Rodrigo Duterte was aired on various television networks. It
showed children reacting to some of the mayor’s controversial remarks including
cursing the Pope as well as comments on who should be the one to rape a woman first.
8. Slippery Slope
• Slippery Slope is committed when a relatively insignificant first event is suggested to lead to a
more significant event, which in turn leads to a more significant event, and so on, until some
ultimate, significant event is reached, where the connection of each event is not only
unwarranted but with each step it becomes more and more improbable.
• Example:
i. In the ad “Extra”, a beautiful story started with a piece of chewing gum. The ad implies
that if you buy this particular chewing gum it will lead to a more significant event, which
in the ad is the engagement and marriage of the couple—the ultimate result of the love
story.
9. Appeal to ridicule
• Appeal to ridicule, also known as Reductio ad absurdum, Ad Absurdum, Reductio ad ridiculum,
Horse Laugh, Appeal to Mockery, it is a fallacy that attempts to make a claim look ridiculous by
mocking it or exaggerating it in a negative way. This fallacy often uses sarcasm to make an
argument look ridiculous.
• Example:
i. Premise: A makes claim X
Premise: Look how funny, silly, or ridiculous A or X is!
Premise: [If A or X is ridiculous, claim X is false]
Conclusion: X is false
10. False Dilemma Fallacy
• This fallacy is committed when one calls for a conclusion based on the assumption that two and
only two mutually exclusive alternatives are possible when in fact more than two are possible
or the two are not mutually exclusive. It asserts that only extreme views or options are
available and valid.
• This fallacy is also referred as “false dichotomy,” “fallacy of bifurcation” and “black- or-white
fallacy.
• Example:
i. You are either with us or against us in this fight against terror
ii. You are either part of the solution or part of the problem
11. A Repetition Fallacy (Argument Ad Nauseam)
• This is the fallacy of trying to prove something by saying it again and again. But no matter how
many times you repeat something, it will not become any more or less true than it was in the
first place.
• Example:
i. Mocha Uson’s interview
LEGAL TECHNIQUES FALLACIES MCL MAGHIRANG
12. Insignificant Cause Fallacy (Genuine But Insignificant Cause)
• An explanation that posits one minor factor, out of several that contributed, as its sole cause.
This fallacy also occurs when an explanation is requested, and the one that is given is not
sufficient to entirely explain the incident yet it is passed off as if it is sufficient.
• Example:
i. Billy murdered all those people because I spanked him when he was a child.
Explanation: Assuming that spanking did contribute to Billy's murderous behavior as an
adult (which is a very weak assumption), to sell that as the cause is extremely fallacious.
13. Red Herring
• This type of fallacy involves sidetracking another person deliberately in order for him/her to pay
attention to a different issue. The term “red herring” pertains to this irrelevant issue. It usually
occurs when one person states an argument, and then the other person gives another
argument, which is not related at all to the first one. As a result, the prior argument is
abandoned.
• Example:
i. In defending one's inaction with regards to the issue of increased crime rate, a local
government official would say that, “The crime in this city, has, in fact increased lately.
However, let's consider that the weather has changed as well. Things change over time.
Sometimes they are linked, sometimes they are not, but only time will tell.”
14. Conspiracy Theory
• Here, a person reasons that what he/she asserts is something that cannot be confirmed or
substantiated because what is actually true is being concealed by, and/or the proofs thereof
were destroyed by, some group of people.
• Example:
i. World leaders, like our own President Rodrigo Duterte, are actually reptilian
extraterrestrials who are capable of shapeshifting. Those who know of this fact are
ordered to keep silent about it, so that the people will not get alarmed.
15. Style Over Substance
• This occurs when one argue the way in which the argument is presented while marginalizing or
ignoring the argument itself. It happens when someone based their argument not by logical
analysis but merely on style, compelling language, or visual aesthetics.
• Example:
i. Proposition 1: X is presented well/poorly.
Proposition 2: Things presented well/poorly are true/false.
Conclusion: X is true/false.
16. False Effect Fallacy
• This is also known as “Non Causa Pro Causa” is a logical fallacy where something is erroneously
argued as the cause but in reality, the conclusion does not depend on the proposed cause. This
occurs usually when an arguer attempts to establish a fact by providing a false premise which
also results to a false effect.
• Example:
i. When a church mandates its patrons to donate or give a percentage of their income to
the church in order to save their souls from Limbo to Heaven. The cause here is the
giving of donation to the church. However, False Effect Fallacy sets in because the giving
of alms does not save one’s soul to Heaven; the effect does not depend on the cause
given in this case. Neither the Bible nor any religious doctrines pronounces the giving of
donation to the church as a way of salvation.