Xenu's Table of Contents

The organization I have chosen for these fallacies is more or less arbitrary, but it does roughly follow the organization of some logic textbooks. There does not seem to be one good way to organize fallacies; my scheme seems to me to be as good as any other. I'm open to suggestions, however.

This list is by no means comprehensive; as I encounter more fallacies, more will be added.

Ad hominem is Latin for "to the man." An ad hominem fallacy occurs when an author shifts the subject away from the issue and on to the person. It is fallacious because it is a distraction from the real issue.

As the name suggests, fallacies of ambiguity exploit unclear language.

These appeals attempt to persuade by ignoring the merits of the argument in favour of attempting to influence the emotions of the audience.

These fallacies occur when the author attempts to affirm a cause-and-effect relationship that does not necessarily exist.

• to be added

These fallacies are other errors in reasoning that don't fit into one of the above categories.

In a valid syllogistic argument, the premises are contained in the conclusion, and the conclusion necessarily follows from the premises. Any syllogism that violates this principle is guilty of one of the following formal, or syllogistic, fallacies.