Posts in Fallacy
10 Common Logical Fallacies Everyone Should Know

Fallacies are errors in reasoning that undermine the credibility of your argument. That is, it renders the argument bad as it distorts the underlying logic. These logical errors are quite common in society and something that many of us encounter regularly. Whether it’s from an influencer trying to capture your attention, a politician wanting your vote, or even a friend trying to convince you of their position, logical fallacies are everywhere. Presented here are ten of the more common logical fallacies that you will encounter.

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Anecdotal Fallacy

An informal fallacy where personal experience or a singular example is used instead of compelling evidence. People often gravitate towards using their own experiences or those of people around them as evidence in arguments. It's natural to do so as citing scientific evidence to craft a good argument takes effort and most of us are lazy thinkers and opt for the quicker and easier…

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Pandemic Endgame: Confronting Covid-19 Vaccine Misinformation

Vaccinations are arguably the greatest medical technology ever created. From the eradication of smallpox to the prevention of certain types of cancers, the success of vaccines is indisputable. The recent COVID-19 vaccines are no less impressive than their numerous predecessors. The leaders in effectiveness are the dual-dose Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which achieve about 95% effectiveness after two doses, while the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine has a 72% overall efficacy with an 86% efficacy against severe disease. While no vaccine offers 100% protection, they are all recommended to…

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Moving the Goalposts

An informal fallacy that occurs when evidence is presented in response to a specific claim that is subsequently dismissed and greater evidence is then demanded. Or, demanding from an opponent that he/she address more points after the initial counter-argument has sufficiently provided evidence against the primary argument. That is, the requirement for a sufficient rebuttal is continually changed after each counter-argument so as to never be able to

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The Infodemic and How to Safely Navigate the Information Landscape

It is certainly interesting times that we find ourselves in. Fake news, pervasive science denial, a new conspiracy theory seemingly every week, tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths from the pandemic that could have been easily avoided by acknowledging the recommendations coming from the scientific community, and many more examples. Society is swimming in false information that is literally costing people their lives at this point and driving us apart through polarization [1]. But what can we do? Quite a bit actually…

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False Cause

An informal fallacy where you argue that because event A directly preceded event B, that event A caused event B. That is, because the two events correlate, that this then implies causation. This can also be thought of as a perceived relationship between two things that doesn't necessarily imply that one is the cause of the other. Clearly, this is a flawed position as correlation doesn't always imply causation. However, it is true that…

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Black & White Thinking

An informal fallacy where two options or an “either/or” situation is presented when more possibilities exist. This fallacy is ostensibly logical, but, on closer evaluation, it becomes clear that it is indeed sophistry as there exist more than two possibilities than were presented. This type of thinking obfuscates the nuances that accompany most situations in life. That is, in general, life is…

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Appeal to Nature

An informal fallacy where you argue that because something is “natural” it is therefore good, better, ideal, etc. While it is true that there are things in this world that are considered “natural” and also fall into the “good “ category (e.g., clean air), this isn't always the case (e.g., earthquakes). Naturalness itself doesn't automatically imply good or bad….

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