Fallacies of Relevance

Fallacies of Relevance        Component Fallacies          Fallacies of Ambiguity          Fallacies of Omission

• argumentum ad baculum (Appeal to Force or the "Might Makes Right" Fallacy)

• Guilt by Association Fallacy

            Four Subcategories:

               Guilt by kinship

               Guilt by verbal association

               Guilt by physical association

               Innocence by association

• Genetic Fallacy

• argumentum ad hominem ("Poisoning the Well" or Personal Attack Fallacy)

            Two subcategories:

                Abusive

                Circumstantial

• argumentum ad populum (Argument to the People)

         Four approaches:

            The Bandwagon Approach

            The Patriotic Approach or "Draping Oneself in the Flag"

            The Snob Approach

            The Christian Approach or "Covering Oneself in the Cross"

• Self-Evident Truth

• Aargumentum ad antiquitatem or argumentum ad traditio (Appeal to Tradition)

• argumentum ad verecundiam (Appeal to Improper Authority)

• argumentum ad misrecordiam ("Argument from Pity")

            Don't confuse this with properly infused pathos.  

• Argument from Adverse Consequences

• Argument from Personal Incredulity

Adapted from: Dr. L. Kip Wheeler 1998-2012. Permission is granted for non-profit, educational, and student reproduction. Last updated March 30, 2012. http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/fallacies_list.html