Rhetorical Fallacies
Rhetoric is used to strengthen the effectiveness of good arguments. But what happens when you don't have a good argument and you want to convince people to your side, anyway? That's rhetoric used for "evil"— rhetorical fallacies. This slide show explains what rhetorical fallacies are, it gives examples of each kind, and it gives you a few opportunities to practice identifying rhetorical fallacies.
The slide show at the right is based off of a bigger list of rhetorical fallacies from the University of Texas at Austin. Check it out! The more you know about rhetorical fallacies, the harder it will be for people to trick you. Rhetorical fallacies appear everywhere in our modern world, especially in the realms of politics and advertising. Don't get duped; know your stuff!
If you want extra practice looking at rhetorical fallacies after you see the slide show, here are some good, fun resources:
This photo essay from TIME shows ten old ads for cigarettes that actually said cigarettes were healthy for you. (There's even one with Santa Claus taking a puff!) This is rhetoric used for the worst purposes possible—funny to look at now, but unethical at the same time.
This funny fake ad for pencils contains many rhetorical fallacies. See how many you can identify!
This movie shows fallacies in several different ads and commercials and explains them. (WARNING: Loud sounds!)
