Examples of equivocation fallacies can be found in many advertisements. In particular, advertisements for products marketed as natural, environmentally friendly, or healthy often commit the equivocation fallacy.
“Feeling tired? Pick up a can of NutriBuzz, the healthy energy drink. It’s designed to energize you to pursue a healthy lifestyle, so you can hit the gym and stay active.”
This advertisement initially suggests that NutriBuzz is a “healthy” product, implying that its ingredients are beneficial. However, the primary benefit mentioned is an energy boost to support a “healthy” lifestyle (i.e., exercise), which doesn’t necessarily make the drink itself healthy in terms of ingredients.
Continue reading: What is an example of the equivocation fallacy in advertising?
The core problem with the equivocation fallacy is its deceptive nature. An argument that commits this fallacy is misleading because it uses a word in multiple ways without acknowledging the different meanings.
The equivocation fallacy can lead an audience to accept a conclusion that seems to be supported by the premises but is actually based on a semantic trick.
Continue reading: Why is equivocation a fallacy?
Ad populum fallacies and appeal to authority fallacies both rely on people’s opinions to persuade, but there is a key difference:
Continue reading: What is the difference between the ad populum fallacy and the appeal to authority fallacy?
In politics, the ad populum fallacy can compel conformity through either desire (e.g., the desire to belong to the winning party) or fear (e.g., the fear of the stigma of supporting an unpopular candidate).
One historical example of ad populum reasoning is the Red Scare phenomenon in the United States. During periods of strong anti-communist sentiment in the twentieth century, many United States citizens were accused of being communists, often based on accusations without any other evidence. The fear of communism and the pressure to conform to anti-communist sentiments led to snowballing accusations and blacklisting
Continue reading: What is an example of the ad populum fallacy in politics?
The ad populum fallacy asserts that a claim is true solely because it’s popular. This fallacy typically occurs in an argument that disregards the need for evidence or sound reasoning, relying instead on the human tendency to conform to prevailing opinions.
Continue reading: How does the ad populum fallacy work?
The opposite of the appeal to tradition fallacy is the appeal to novelty fallacy, also known by its Latin name, argumentum ad novitatem.
The appeal to novelty fallacy occurs when an argument assumes that something is superior simply because it is new or modern.
Like the appeal to tradition fallacy, it relies on the timing of an idea or practice to prove its merits.
Continue reading: What is the opposite of the appeal to tradition fallacy?
Both the appeal to tradition fallacy and the appeal to emotion fallacy can leverage social pressures and sentiments, but they do so in different ways:
Continue reading: How is the appeal to tradition fallacy different from the appeal to emotion fallacy?
An argument can include an appeal to relevant traditions without committing the appeal to tradition fallacy. There is a key difference between arguments that consider traditions and arguments that commit the fallacy:
- Appeal to tradition fallacy: Assumes that tradition alone is adequate proof; disregards contemporary contexts and evidence
- Sound argument: Mentions relevant traditions as a factor to consider; takes into account modern contexts and evidence-based reasoning
Continue reading: Can an appeal to tradition be valid?
The appeal to ignorance fallacy is often countered with the maxim “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” A lack of evidence may merely reflect the current limitations of our knowledge; it does not necessarily mean that evidence will never be discovered.
Continue reading: What does absence of evidence mean?
The lack of definitive proof that cryptids, such as Bigfoot, do not exist is sometimes presented as evidence that they do exist. This line of argumentation is an example of the appeal to ignorance fallacy that one might encounter in everyday life.
Continue reading: What is an example of an appeal to ignorance fallacy in real life?
