![]() Is that true? Not necessarily, but it’s easier to argue that the senator is cutting government funding than to address the finer points of her tax plan. Her opponents then accuse her of trying to bankrupt the government or plotting to cut key government services. Senator Smith first lays out her plan to cut taxes. (By the way, did you know that there isn’t really a fish called the “Red Herring”?) Straw ManĪnother fallacy related to the red herring is the straw man fallacy. A straw man is an argument that your opponent cleverly replaces for your real argument. It is usually a similar sounding argument, but one that is easier to dispute: But is any of that relevant to the question at hand? If not, then you’ve found a red herring. And of course the other candidate running has a criminal record. The red herring fallacy is when an irrelevant claim is inserted into the argument in order to distract the listener from the real point. What do red herrings have to do with logical fallacies? Nothing-and that’s exactly the point. In order to evaluate that, we would need to examine the argument itself, rather than simply accepting the statement based on the speaker’s authority. If the argument involves government intervention in Yemen, or public education policy, or even what time the library closes on Tuesdays, he may well be wrong. But that does not mean that he is right about everything. James may indeed be an excellent doctor and a smart man. However, instead of being criticized, the person or entity making the argument is held up as a figure of authority. For example: Appeal to AuthorityĪppeal to authority is similar to ad hominem in that the person making the argument, rather than the argument itself, is the focus. If you’re only criticizing who said it, and not what he said, then you’re probably falling prey to the ad hominem fallacy. The second statement may be true-the problem is that it criticizes the entity that made the argument (Russia), but fails to address the argument itself. Russian delegate: “We must intervene to stabilize Iraq.”Īmerican delegate: “Russia is only trying to protect its oil interests.” In the ad hominem fallacy, the person, organization, or entity making the argument is criticized, while the claims and the argument itself go unaddressed. ![]() One common form of this is an ad hominem attack. The problem begins when claims that are not relevant to the conclusion enter the equation. But each part of the argument builds towards its conclusion: that because dogs are the most loyal companions, they are the best pets. Or you may argue that cats (or snakes, or birds) are more loyal. You may choose to disagree with the claim that loyalty is the top priority for a pet. Because dogs are the best companions and the most loyal animals, they are the best pets.” “Loyalty and companionship are the best reasons to have a pet. When building a strong argument, you want to use claims that lead logically to your conclusion. Understanding how to construct and take apart an argument can help you avoid falling for such fallacies. People often find these fallacies hard to detect. What do ad hominems, appeals to authority, red herrings and the straw man argument have in common? Each of these is an example of the Fallacy of Relevance.įallacies of Relevance are logical fallacies in which a key part of the argument is actually irrelevant to its conclusion.
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