Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Magedah Shabo
Revised on
August 21, 2024
The ad hominem fallacy is the error of unfairly criticizing a person to distract from the argument at hand. In addition to being the name of a logical fallacy, the term “ad hominem,” Latin for “against the person,” can also be used to describe a general insult.
Personal criticism doesn’t always constitute a logical fallacy. An ad hominem is fallacious if the criticism leveled against an individual is irrelevant and serves only to distract from the main topic.
Ad hominem fallacy exampleSpeaker 1: I’m against the war because it will have disastrous humanitarian consequences.
Speaker 2: You’re just virtue signaling. If you care so much about humanity, why haven’t you ever mentioned the Rohingya refugee crisis?
As an informal fallacy, an ad hominem fallacy makes an argument unsound. Ad hominem attacks are often used deliberately to manipulate, sidetrack, and provoke. An ad hominem may also be used without manipulative intent, resulting from an emotional outburst or faulty reasoning.
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Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Magedah Shabo
Revised on
November 13, 2025
Circular reasoning is an informal logical fallacy that assumes the truth of a conclusion without providing independent evidence or valid reasoning.
Circular reasoning fallacy examplePolitician: Everyone in our party should vote for the incumbent candidate because he’s the only one who stands a chance to win.
Journalist: Why should voters who disagree with his foreign policy support him?
Politician: Voters must support the party’s candidate based on electability.
In everyday discourse, circular statements aren’t inherently fallacious. They are commonly used to emphasize ideas or convey cultural norms (e.g., “Justice is important because we all deserve equal rights”). Circular statements can also be used to define or clarify concepts (e.g., “This shape is a rectangle because it has four 90-degree angles”).
Circular reasoning is fallacious specifically when used in argumentation. Fallacies of circular reasoning are often used either as a result of cognitive biases or as a rhetorical tactic to mask a lack of evidence.
Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Magedah Shabo
Revised on
November 13, 2025
The straw man fallacy is the error of misrepresenting an opposing argument to make it easier to refute. The straw man version of the argument typically bears some resemblance to the opponent’s actual position, but it is oversimplified or distorted in a way that makes it sound somewhat ridiculous, impractical, or unethical.
Straw man fallacies can be committed unintentionally, but they are often used deliberately to create a false sense of victory or to malign an opponent.
Straw man fallacy exampleAt a school board meeting discussing the use of tablets in classrooms, a parent argues that the proposal suggests that children don’t need to learn to write by hand anymore. This misrepresents the plan, which is to use tablets alongside traditional writing.
Straw man argumentscan be found in controversial discussions on a wide range of topics, in contexts ranging from formal political debates to social media arguments.
Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Magedah Shabo
Revised on
November 15, 2024
The slippery slope fallacy is the error of unjustifiably claiming that a decision will yield an extreme result. As an informal fallacy, the slippery slope fallacy renders an argument unsound.
Slippery slope fallacies can result from poor reasoning but are sometimes used deliberately as a persuasive tactic.
Slippery slope fallacy exampleA critic of remote work suggests that if businesses continue allowing employees to work from home, commercial real estate will experience catastrophic devaluation, making a recession inevitable.
Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Magedah Shabo
Revised on
November 13, 2025
The sunk cost fallacy is the error of persisting with a bad decision because of the misconception that changing course would invalidate previous time, money, or effort invested.
As an informal logical fallacy, the sunk cost fallacy is a type of flawed argument. As a cognitive bias, the sunk cost fallacy is a faulty decision-making process.
Sunk cost fallacy exampleA student chooses to be a chemistry major. After a year, the student realizes that computer science would have been a better choice. Based on the sunk cost fallacy, the student persists in studying chemistry, convinced that changing majors would mean that the time and effort already invested were wasted.
Reasoning that is based on the sunk cost fallacy fails to take into account that past investments of time, money, or effort are irretrievable (i.e., they are “sunk costs”). Persisting in an undesirable course of action can lead to further wasted resources, as well as missed opportunities.
Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Magedah Shabo
Revised on
November 13, 2025
A logical fallacy is a common type of error that undermines the validity or soundness of an argument. Logical fallacies include both structural errors (i.e., formal fallacies) and errors of content or context (i.e., informal fallacies).
Although logical fallacies are often based on flawed reasoning, some are also used deliberately to mislead and manipulate.
Logical fallacy exampleAt a technology conference, a software developer questions the ethics of using AI in law enforcement, citing potential biases and privacy concerns. The speaker avoids addressing these ethical issues by stating that the use of AI in law enforcement has been endorsed by a Nobel Prize-winning scientist, implying that this endorsement should alleviate any concerns.
This argument exemplifies a type of logical fallacy known as an appeal to authority. The speaker avoids responding to ethical concerns about AI in law enforcement by changing the subject to an expert’s endorsement.
The ability to recognize logical fallacies is essential to developing strong critical thinking and media literacy skills. This knowledge can help us avoid both committing logical fallacies and being misled by them.
Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Magedah Shabo
Revised on
November 13, 2025
The tu quoque fallacy occurs when someone responds to criticism by accusing the other party of inconsistency or hypocrisy. This tactic diverts attention from the original issue to an opponent’s supposed failure to follow their own principles.
Tu quoque is a form of ad hominem fallacy, meaning that it shifts focus away from the argument to the person presenting it.
Tu quoque fallacy exampleA teacher advises a student to spend more time studying and less time on social media to improve their grades. The student replies, “But you post on social media during class hours!” Here, the student’s response shifts the focus from how their social media habits might be affecting their grades to focus on the irrelevant topic of the teacher’s social media usage.
Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Magedah Shabo
Revised on
November 11, 2024
The post hoc fallacy is a common error in reasoning in which one event is assumed to have caused another based solely on the timing of events.
Its name is derived from the Latin phrase post hoc ergo propter hoc, meaning “after this, therefore because of this.” Arguments that commit this logical fallacy ignore every variable except the order of events, often leading to erroneous conclusions.
Post hoc fallacy exampleA CEO assumes that hiring a new celebrity spokesperson directly caused a subsequent increase in stock prices without considering other factors, such as broader market upswings.
Post hoc errors highlight the importance of rigorous analysis. Understanding the post hoc fallacy is essential to making evidence-based decisions and policies in domains such as science, business, and politics. Recognizing this fallacy helps in distinguishing between mere correlations and actual causation, a distinction critical in research and strategic planning.
Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Magedah Shabo
Revised on
January 28, 2025
An either-or fallacy simplifies complex issues by presenting two choices and disregarding other possibilities. This fallacy is often used deliberately in politics, marketing, or everyday conversations as a rhetorical technique to push an audience toward a specific action or viewpoint.
Arguments that commit the either-or fallacy don’t necessarily include the words “either” or “or,” but they essentially frame an issue in an overly simplistic way by presenting only two possibilities.
Either-or fallacy example“You’re either with us or against us in the fight against crime. If you don’t support our new crime prevention policy, you must be in favor of lawlessness and chaos.”
The either-or fallacy, alternatively called false dilemma, false dichotomy, or false binary, leads to oversimplified conclusions that are often misleading and promote a closed-minded outlook.
Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Magedah Shabo
Revised on
November 11, 2024
The ecological fallacy is the error of inferring individuals’ behaviors or traits from group-level data. This logical fallacy, specific to statistical analysis, involves applying aggregate data collected for a group to specific members and failing to account for variation within the group.
Ecological fallacy exampleDuring a discussion about potential investments in a high-GDP-per-capita country, an investor remarks, “Investing in luxury goods will be profitable here because everyone is wealthy.”
In this example of the ecological fallacy, the investor overlooks the possibility of income disparity in the nation and assumes that all citizens have high purchasing power. In reality, wealth may be concentrated among a small, elite group.
The ecological fallacy is typically found in fields that use data to understand complex systems, whether they are social, economic, political, or environmental.
