What is a fallacious argument?
A fallacious argument is reasoning that seems logical on the surface but leads to erroneous conclusions, either because it is based on logical errors or because it manipulates the emotions, beliefs, or biases of those who listen.
There are two main categories of fallacious arguments:
- Sophism, used intentionally to manipulate, persuade, or divert a debate.
- Paralogism, which is based on a reasoning error made in good faith, without the intent to deceive.
They can be found everywhere: in political debates, discussions on social networks, advertisements, and even in some conspiratorial speeches. Learning to spot these false logics means giving yourself the means to think more clearly, avoid rhetorical traps… and better resist manipulation.
1- Ad hominem argument
This is one of the easiest fallacious arguments to spot: it consists of attacking the person who puts forward an idea or an argument rather than the idea or the argument itself. The aim is to divert attention from the proposition that should be debated. It is often a hateful or defamatory argument, or one that incites hatred or defamation.
👉“My opponent is stupid/incompetent, how could they possibly have a valid idea?”
👉 Greta Thunberg is very often criticized for her appearance, her age, or her Asperger’s syndrome rather than for the arguments she makes.
2- Premature generalization
Drawing a general conclusion from a few isolated examples. Certainly, the cases mentioned may have some relation to the conclusion being made, but it is their rarity that is problematic.
👉“A BMW driver cut me off, therefore all BMW drivers are reckless.”
3- Argument from popularity
Claiming that something is true simply because many people believe it:
“If everyone thinks so, then it must be the norm.”
A well-known variant appeals to tradition to (falsely) conclude that, since something has always been done in a certain well-known way, it must therefore be the right way to do it. Appeal to the crowd and to tradition are very effective strategies and therefore highly valued by manipulators.
👉 “The majority of our fellow citizens think that we should carry out military operations abroad; therefore, it is the right thing to do.”
4- The slippery slope
This sophism consists of presenting a series of catastrophic consequences without demonstrating a convincing cause-and-effect link, or by exaggerating excessively. The slippery slope provides a diversion because it distracts our attention from the subject under discussion by leading us to consider something else.
👉 “If I give you this today, tomorrow you’ll want everything.”
👉 “If same-sex marriage is allowed, soon it will be polygamy, and why not incest?”
👉 “If we ban the carrying of weapons, little by little we’ll be deprived of all our freedoms and we will live in a totalitarian country.”
5- The false dilemma
It consists of trapping the opponent in a false alternative; they must choose between A, which is catastrophic, and B, which is the position defended by the sophist. Only two options are presented as if they were the only ones, while hiding other alternatives. In other words, the situation is presented as binary, when it is not.
👉“Those who are not with us are against us.”
👉“Vote for me, because if you don’t, it will be chaos.”
6- The straw man
It consists of creating a simplified or distorted caricature of the opponent’s argument, attributing to them purely invented ideas or words, and then arguing against this caricature rather than the initial argument. The ideas and words in question are, of course, chosen because they are easier to criticize.
👉“You want to regulate the economy? So you want to impose a communist regime?”
7- The anonymous authority argument
It consists of referring to vague or unidentified sources such as “scientists”, “experts” to claim that something is true and give weight to this assertion.
Since the so-called experts are neither named nor identified, it is impossible to know whether they are actually qualified, or even whether the cited statement is real.
👉“According to scientists, drinking one glass of alcohol a day is good for your health.”
8- Correlation does not imply causation
This sophism creates a causal link where there is only a simple correlation. Many people confuse correlation (the fact that things vary at the same time) with causality (the fact that one thing causes another).
Determining whether there is indeed causality requires time, research, and scientific studies with statistical data and a rigorous methodology. In other words, to establish a causal link, it must be proven. Often, it is on social networks that we see graphs or maps emerging that claim to explain complex issues simply in order to support an argument.
⚠️ Similar curves do not always mean a cause-and-effect relationship. ⚠️
👉 In the 1930s in Germany, some slogans claimed: « Three million unemployed, three million Jews »
👉 “It’s dangerous to go to the hospital because more people die there than anywhere else” — “going to the hospital” and “dying” present a correlation, because people go to the hospital due to health concerns. And the risk of death is increased by health problems.
9- The appeal to ignorance (argumentum ad ignorantiam)
This sophism consists of claiming that a statement is true simply because it cannot be proven false — or conversely, that it is false because it cannot be proven true. This amounts to using our ignorance as proof, which is not valid reasoning.
This type of argument is very common in pseudoscientific or conspiratorial discourse: it exploits blind spots or uncertainties to assert anything and everything.
👉 “No one has ever proven that extraterrestrials don’t exist, so they must exist.”
👉 “There is no proof that this vaccine is completely harmless, therefore it is dangerous.”
👉 “You can’t prove that the government is hiding nothing… so it must be hiding something!”
Fallacious arguments are a bit like shady ads on the Internet: they may look convincing, but it’s better not to click too quickly. They are sometimes subtle, often effective, and always misleading. They are used to manipulate, to persuade without proof, or simply because we’ve absorbed them without realizing it.
Knowing how to spot them is a real asset: you take a step back, you see more clearly… and you become much harder to manipulate. So keep your eyes sharp and continue to train your critical thinking!
