Question

Define "fallacy" and name THREE informal, inductive fallacies, such as straw man, red herring, slippery slope, hasty generalization, flawed analogy, etc. Then offer an original example of ONE fallacy and explain why an argument with this flaw could lead to serious errors in reasoning.

Answer 1

Fallacies are common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of your argument. Fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points, and are often identified because they lack evidence that supports their claim. Avoid these common fallacies in your own arguments and watch for them in the arguments of others.

“I drank bottled water and now I am sick. The water must have made me sick” (post hoc ergo proctor hoc)

“People who don’t support the increase of state minimum wage hate the poor” (straw man)

“If we ban hummers because they’re bad for the environment, then eventually we’ll ban all cars. So we shouldn’t ban hummers.” (Slippery slope)

Either/Or. an example can be “we can either stop using cars or we can destroy the earth” this is a fallacy because it is making assumptions and over exaggerating. It is also assuming cars are the only problem destroying the earth, which is incorrect.