Picture taken from Harpers.org
Non Sequiturs
"Latin for "it does not follow," Non Sequiturs occur when a conclusion does not logically follow from the premises used to support it.
Two examples of a Non Sequitur would be:
Premise: I have a dog
Premise: I have no elephants in my house
Conclusion: My dog keeps the elephants out of my house
Premise: All CBC Cadets are people.
Premise: Some people are Jr. Billikens.
Conclusion: All Cadets are Jr. Billikens.
Both examples are incorrect because the two premises cannot be joined to form the conclusion stated.
More information on non sequiturs and other fallacies can be found at Coping.org
False and Vague Premises
A vague or false premise is when one of the premises is false or vague making the conclusion untrue even if it would follow logically.
Two examples of a vague or false premise are:
Premise: All people are Jr. Billikens.
Premise: Jr. Billikens are the best.
Conclusion: All people are the best.
Premise: I eat lots of ice cream.
Premise: All people who eat ice cream are obese.
Conclusion: I am obese.
The first example is incorrect because it has both a false and a vague premise. The second example is false as it has a false second premise.
More information on false and vague premises, along with other errors can be found at the University of Idaho
Ad Hominem
Latin for "against the person," Ad Hominem occurs when instead of judging the argument or statement of the person, one attacks the person directly instead.
Two examples of Ad Hominems are:
Premise: Barack Obama has a plan to help our economy.
Premise: Barack Obama is liberal.
Conclusion: Barack Obama's plan will not work.
That person said "insert quote here" because he is an idiot.
Both examples are incorrect because, instead of listening to their plans or statements, one attacks the person directly.
Another way of explaining the Ad Hominem is through Nizkor.org
Begging the Question
Begging the Question occurs when someone is trying to prove a point, and in the proving, assumes the point one is trying to prove true is already true.
Two examples of begging the question are:
Person 1: Jesus did not sin because he was God.
Person 2: How do you know that he didn't sin?
Person 1: Because he was God.
Person 1: I love her because I want to marry her.
Person 2: Why do you want to marry her?
Person 1: Because I love her.
Both examples are incorrect because they support A with B, and then support B with A, not proving B or A yet.
Another way of begging the question can be seen through Nizkor.org
Red Herrings
A red herring occurs when when one says something controversial or beside-the-point to distact people from the real issue.
Two examples of red herrings are:
Joe is talking to Bob about grades and Bob has a bad grade in the class that they are abut to reach. Bob says "Who are you going to vote for in the election?"
Jack and Jill are talking about sexuality and Jack suddenly states "How 'bout them Blues."
Both examples are red herrings because the people try and shift the conversation away from its topic with something beside-the-point or controversial.
Red herrings are explained on FallacyFiles.org
Please visit the links listed under the category for more information on each topic. You can also email me any questions that you have at scheibe92@yahoo.com. Lastly, anyone can come to me personally and ask me any questions that they have.
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