Ad Hominem Fallacies: Types and Examples PDF

 Ad hominem Characteristics: attacking the person presenting the argument instead of the argument itself. Example: “of course he believes that the government is flawed, he is a rebel and a Communist!”  Ad Baculum Appeal to force Characteristics: using...

 Ad hominem Characteristics: attacking the person presenting the argument instead of the argument itself. Example: “of course he believes that the government is flawed, he is a rebel and a Communist!”  Ad Baculum Appeal to force Characteristics: using the threat of force or an undesirable event to advance an argument. Example: “if this peace agreement will not be signed by the government, then we will have no recourse but to go to war.”  Appeal to emotion Characteristics: using emotions such as pity or sympathy. Example: “All these charges are baseless; this is just plain harassment – can’t you see how this is affecting my family?” Appeal to the popular Characteristics: the idea is presented as acceptable because a lot of people accept it. Example: “Every boy your age already has a girlfriend, you should go find one!”  Appeal to tradition Characteristics: the idea is acceptable because it has been true for a long time. Example: “Marriage should be between a man and a woman. It has been so for a long time in this country; it should remain so today and in the future.”  Begging the question Petitio Principii Characteristics: assuming the thing or idea to be proven is true; also known as circular argument. Example: “I have the right to free speech, therefore you cannot stop me from talking.”  Post Hoc (Cause-and-effect) Characteristics: Example: assuming “cause-and effect” “Ever since you bought that sweater, everything has been going wrong in your life. You should relationship between unrelated get rid of it.” events  Fallacy of composition Characteristics: assuming that what is true of a part is true for the whole Example: “These cases of robbery in this district have convinced me that the city has become a den of thieves and criminals.”  Fallacy of division Characteristics: assuming that what is true for the whole is true for its parts. Example: “You come from a family of doctors and intellectuals! Surely you can do better in this course!” Ways of Doing Philosophy Examples of Fallacies 7. False Analogy – comparing two similar terms/ideas but has wrongful usage/meaning. Example: Our santol tree has a bark. My dog barks, therefore, the santol tree also barks. Ways of Doing Philosophy Examples of Fallacies 10. Dicto Simpliciter – assuming that something true in general is true in every possible case. Example: “There’s nothing I won’t do for my children.”  Biases are not necessarily errors in reasoning but refer to tendencies or influences which affect the views of people.  Correspondence bias or attribution effect Characteristics: tendency to judge a person’s personality by his or her actions, without regard for the external factors or influence. Example: “These soldiers who fought in the war are all bloodthirsty murderers!”  Confirmation bias Characteristics: tendency to look for and readily accept information which fits one’s own beliefs or views and to reject ideas or views that go against it. Example: “How can I accept his view that there is no God? I’m a Christian!”  Framing Characteristics: focusing on a certain aspect of a problem while ignoring other aspects. Example: “Preliminary evidence has still not pointed out the actual cause of the plane crash, but investigators are currently focusing on the possibility of pilot error.”  Hindsight Characteristics: the tendency to see past events as predictable, or to ascribe a pattern to historical events Example: “Magellan’s assault on Mactan Island was a foolhardy venture, made by an overconfident , careless man who underestimated the valor of the native Filipinos.”  Conflict of Interest Characteristics: a person or group is connected to or has a vested interest in the issue being discussed. Example: “As the daughter of the accused, I believe I have the right to express my opinion on the issue of his alleged corrupt practices.”  Cultural bias Characteristics: Example: analyzing an event or issue based on one’s “I do not agree with this cultural standards. Western practice of placing aged parents in retirement homes. We Filipinos take care of our family members.”