Logical Fallacies: Explanations and Examples

Examples of logical fallacies are everywhere in our world – from characters on TV and in movies to real world examples in politics, advertising and on social media. Learning to understand, identify and avoid logical fallacies can help you make better arguments, write stronger essays and improve your critical thinking in all areas of your life.

When you understand common logical fallacies and what makes them fallacies (that is, unsound arguments or illogical reasoning), you’ll be able to start recognizing and arguing against them. Plus, you should be able to better identify what information is invalid or irrelevant when making arguments yourself.

In this article, we’ll cover the following:

• What is a logical fallacy?

• Why are logical fallacies important?

• 15 common logical fallacy types

• Examples of the 15 common logical fallacies

• How to fix or avoid argument fallacies

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What is a logical fallacy?

A logical fallacy is, put simply, an error in reasoning.

It’s not the same as simply being factually incorrect – it’s specifically an error in how someone logically arrives at a conclusion.

For example:

Sentence 1: Recycling doesn’t matter.

Sentence 2: Lots of people don’t recycle, so recycling doesn’t matter.

Sentence 1 is factually incorrect, but it doesn’t contain a logical fallacy.

Sentence 2 does contain a logical fallacy, called the bandwagon fallacy. It states that recycling doesn’t matter simply because many people don’t recycle, rather than actually debating the pros and cons of recycling as a program.

Logical fallacies frequently include invalid or irrelevant information or mistaken beliefs, and they may be accidentally illogical or intentionally deceptive. They may appear at first glance to be correct, but on further examination, they fall apart.

Why is it important to understand logical fallacies?

There are a few key reasons to learn about logical fallacies.

The primary reason is that using a logical fallacy weakens your argument. Whether you’re writing an essay for a class or casually debating a point with a friend, recognizing logical fallacies can help you make your point, and avoiding them can help you convince others that your argument is valid.

Second, recognizing logical fallacies can help you avoid falling for misinformation. As mentioned above, logical fallacies may be used accidentally or intentionally. They often sound convincing, especially if the argument fits what you already believe.

So to sum up, understanding logical fallacies can help you not just write stronger arguments and pick apart the arguments of your debate partners, but also avoid getting duped!

The most common logical fallacy types

Now that we’ve defined logical fallacies, let’s look at some different types. Here are descriptions and examples of 15 common logical fallacies.

Ad hominem

Ad hominem, which roughly translates to “aimed at the man,” means a criticism, argument or counterargument attacks a person directly instead of addressing their argument.

In a debate, an ad hominem attack could look like trying to undermine an opponent’s point by saying they have a bad haircut, or it can be more subtle, like suggesting their lack of personal experience invalidates their point. 

For example:

“You can’t trust Dave’s argument on book sales because Dave isn’t a book salesman.”

Dave might not be an authority on book sales through personal experience, but that doesn’t actually address his argument. His job title doesn’t necessarily make him right or wrong. To make a good argument, you have to look instead at what is being said, not the person who’s saying it.

Appeal to ignorance

The appeal to ignorance fallacy is the assumption that something is true based on a lack of evidence that it isn’t true.

For example:

“I’ve never actually seen a narwhal, so I don’t think they exist.”

“All toupées look bad. I know because I can always spot a bad toupée.”

The second example is actually known specifically as the “toupée fallacy,” a type of appeal to ignorance that misses the fact that they would be less likely to spot a good, hard-to-notice toupée.

This logical error is usually summed up as, “The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”

Appeal to the law

The appeal to the law fallacy links morality and correctness with current law. What is legal is automatically believed to be moral and correct, and what is illegal is assumed to be immoral.

This fallacy assumes that the fact that something is illegal or legal is justification for believing it to be wrong or right.

For example:

“Why are you so upset that I called your grandmother ugly? It’s not like it’s illegal to express an opinion.”

“Slavery was legal at the time that he owned slaves, so he didn’t do anything wrong.”

Appeal to pity

The appeal to pity fallacy is when someone uses feelings of pity to distract from the truth. It argues that the result should be decided not based on the quality of the argument but on the pitiable state of one of the stakeholders.

For example:

“You can’t be mad that I ate your birthday cake – I had a really hard morning.”

“I deserve a better grade because I took the test even though I had the flu.”

These are not logically sound arguments. This fallacy ignores the primary issue while focusing on emotional reasons that are irrelevant to the problem at hand. Having a harder time taking a test because you were sick does not change the answers you gave.

Bandwagon fallacy

The bandwagon fallacy assumes that because something is popular, it is correct. 

“Everyone I know thinks that squirrels are smarter than chipmunks, so it must be true.”

“This band’s album stayed at number one on the charts for months, so those songs must be the best songs of the year.”

Popular opinion and truth don’t always go hand in hand, so information must be evaluated on its own merits. Remember, they put Galileo in prison for suggesting that Earth was actually round!

Causal fallacy (faulty causality)

The causal fallacy is the false assumption that because two things seem to be related, one must be causing the other.

For example:

“When the ski season ends, allergy pill sales skyrocket. Skiing must prevent allergy symptoms.”

While skiing and allergies might appear to have a relationship, the changing weather and spring allergies kicking in are the more likely reasons for the change both in antihistamine sales and skiers on the slopes. The causal fallacy assumes that one thing caused another simply because they both happened at the same time.

Circular argument (begging the question)

Remember how frustrating it was to be a kid asking why an adult told you to do something, only for them to respond, “Because I said so”?

This is an example of a circular argument! And as you might remember, it’s unsatisfying.

In short, a circular argument claims that something must be true because it is – the claim is repeated but without evidence.

For example:

“You should wash your hands because I said you should wash your hands.”

“Circular reasoning is bad because it’s not good.”

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Equivocation

Most commonly used to avoid or mislead, equivocation is the intentional use of unclear or confusing language. 

Someone who is equivocating may fail to answer questions or try to cause readers or listeners to misinterpret information.

For example:

“As a student council member, I would put together a clear plan to get more candy in the vending machine, while my opponent will only focus on their special interest projects.”

Here, the phrase “special interest projects” is used to make the listener think the opponent has hidden or selfish motives, but the speaker does not specify what exactly the “special interest projects” are. This avoids discussing what the opponent is actually proposing.

False dichotomy

A false dichotomy, also known as the either/or fallacy, is when an argument presents two options as if they are the only options, rather than looking at all possible options.

This may be used to get others to agree to something based on the false idea that it is the better of two bad options. It may also be a simple mistaken belief, where the person fails to consider all the possibilities.

For example:

“Either you buy that shirt right now or we’re going home.”

“We can either give the military more money to go to space, or we’ll never go to space.”

Hasty generalization

The hasty generalization fallacy is the use of a small sample size or overgeneralization to reach a conclusion.

For example:

“I surveyed two people. One agreed with me and the other didn’t. That means 50% of people agree with me.”

“The only strawberry I ever ate was mushy, therefore all strawberries are mushy.”

The problem with these statements is that they are using samples that are either too small or too specific to get a meaningful sense of what is true. 

Red herring

The last 5 fallacies on this list are perhaps the most common logical fallacies of all. 

The red herring fallacy is when someone introduces an irrelevant fact, topic or argument to distract attention from the conversation at hand.

Red herrings are common in advertising and politics. For example:

“You can say that we need to reduce carbon emissions, but what about the middle class? They’re already struggling, and we need economic reform.”

“Wouldn’t you like to be on vacation at the beach? Buying this candle is like a small vacation.”

In the first example, the speaker is changing the topic instead of responding to their opponent. In the second, an ad is ignoring the actual pros and cons of purchasing a candle by directing you to think about a beach vacation.

Red herrings can also be seen frequently – if somewhat less intentionally – on social media.

“I heard that politician was corrupt. Ever since he was elected, his country keeps getting hit by storms, and there’s a disease outbreak nearby. Really makes you think he can’t be trusted, right?”

“I bought this herb oil and have been getting headaches on and off ever since. My friend got sick from eating corn. Something isn’t right.”

While a series of facts listed together suggests a relationship, it’s worth examining whether they have anything to do with the primary argument.

Slippery slope

The slippery slope fallacy is easy to identify – it’s when someone assumes an imaginary chain of events will follow a single action, usually ending in catastrophe. 

For example:

“If you let the children have a piece of candy now, they’ll expect candy every day, and then several times a day, until they eat so much candy that their teeth rot and they can’t focus because of all the sugar.”

This argument doesn’t actually discuss whether now is an appropriate time to give the children candy, the children’s eating habits, or anything else that might be relevant. Instead, it discourages giving candy based on a made-up possible outcome. 

Strawman

Another very common fallacy, the strawman fallacy comes up when someone presents a false version of their opponent’s counterargument that’s easier to fight or disprove than the real argument.

For example, someone fighting an affordable housing proposal might say:

“These affordable housing radicals think we should give everyone a free house, even people that already have a house. Obviously, that’s ridiculous, so you should vote against it.”

Perhaps in this example the real proposal is to build one building with lower priced condos. The speaker has created a strawman by misrepresenting the proposal and knocking it down, rather than actually talking about what would be good or bad about building new housing in the area.

Sunk cost fallacy

Just about everyone has been guilty of the sunk cost fallacy at one point or another in their life. 

The sunk cost fallacy is when someone says that they’ve already invested so much time, money or effort into something that they can’t abandon it.

For example:

“I’m really not enjoying this book, but I spent money on it and I’ve already read over half of it, so I can’t stop reading it now.”

“The company has already spent a million dollars designing a bicycle with square wheels – we can’t give up on this idea just because it isn’t working.”

The simple fact of past investment does not make something worthwhile. Instead, a sound argument should look at the pros and cons of continuing to invest time, money or energy into something. 

Whataboutism (appeal to hypocrisy)

Last but certainly not least, we have whataboutism, or the appeal to hypocrisy fallacy.

This is the fallacy of bringing up someone’s hypocrisy or failings rather than addressing the soundness of an argument.

It is similar to the red herring fallacy in that it introduces irrelevant information, specifically in the form of a criticism of someone or something else.

For example:

“The marketing department went over their budget this year.”

“Accounting was even more over budget!”

“Politician A is breaking the law.”

“His opponent, Politician B, also broke the law!”

In a logical argument, what someone else did or did not do is irrelevant. 

How to fix or avoid argument fallacies

Here are some questions you can ask when you think something might be a logical fallacy.

• Is this argument based on evidence?

• Is the evidence from a reliable source? 

• Is there enough information to support the claim?

• Is all of the information here relevant to the primary discussion?

• What assumptions are being made?

• Do I understand the argument and the criticism? 

• What is the strongest possible counterargument, and is it being correctly represented?

Practice looking for each of these logical fallacies online, in the news, or in your daily life.

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