# An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments  ## Metadata - Author: [[Ali Almossawi]] - Full Title: An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments - Category: #books ## Highlights - Arguing from consequences is speaking for or against the truth of a statement by appealing to the consequences it would have if true ([Location 119](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=119)) - the fact that a proposition leads to some unfavorable result does not mean that it is false. ([Location 120](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=120)) - red herring ([Location 129](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=129)) - aim of attacking the caricature rather than the actual argument. ([Location 134](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=134)) - Misrepresenting the idea is much easier than refuting the evidence for it. ([Location 139](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=139)) - appeal to authority ([Location 142](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=142)) - irrelevant authority, ([Location 146](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=146)) - appeal to vague authority ([Location 147](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=147)) - appeal to ancient wisdom ([Location 149](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=149)) - A false dilemma is an argument that presents a limited set of two possible categories ([Location 166](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=166)) - by rejecting one category, you are forced to accept the other. ([Location 168](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=168)) - someone might use such a line of reasoning to suggest that a person is either silent and a thinker or talkative and an imbecile. ([Location 174](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=174)) - This fallacy assumes a cause for an event where there is no evidence that one exists.When ([Location 178](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=178)) - hoc ergo propter hoc ([Location 181](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=181)) - hoc ergo propter hoc ([Location 182](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=182)) - confusing correlation with causation ([Location 184](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=184)) - This fallacy plays on the fears of an audience by imagining a scary future ([Location 191](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=191)) - reminiscent of a false dilemma ([Location 201](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=201)) - conclusion from a sample that is either too small or too special ([Location 204](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=204)) - Although convenient, hasty generalizations can lead to costly and catastrophic results. ([Location 206](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=206)) - assumes a proposition to be true simply because there is no evidence proving that it is false ([Location 218](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=218)) - absence of evidence is taken to be evidence of absence. ([Location 219](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=219)) - “burden of proof” ([Location 221](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=221)) - always lies with the person making a claim. ([Location 221](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=221)) - argument from personal incredulity ([Location 225](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=225)) - person’s inability to imagine something leads them to believe that it is false. ([Location 226](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=226)) - The ambiguity allows the stubborn mind to redefine things at will. ([Location 236](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=236)) - A genetic fallacy is committed when an argument is either devalued or defended solely because of its origins. ([Location 243](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=243)) - an argument’s history or the origins of the person making it have no effect whatsoever on its validity. ([Location 244](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=244)) - modus ponens ([Location 265](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=265)) - mode of affirming) ([Location 265](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=265)) - sound in addition to being valid. ([Location 271](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=271)) - error lies in assuming ([Location 273](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=273)) - because the consequent is true, the antecedent must also be true, ([Location 273](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=273)) - because schooling is not the only path to success, one cannot say that a person who is successful must have received schooling. ([Location 276](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=276)) - tu quoque ([Location 280](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=280)) - “you too,” ([Location 280](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=280)) - answering a charge with a charge, ([Location 281](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=281)) - a particular type of ad hominem attack. ([Location 282](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=282)) - A slippery slope argument attempts to discredit a proposition by arguing that its acceptance will undoubtedly lead to a sequence of events, ([Location 293](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=293)) - assumes that every transition is inevitable ([Location 295](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=295)) - appeal to the people ([Location 304](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=304)) - ad hominem ([Location 314](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=314)) - Latin for “to the man”) ([Location 314](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=314)) - attacks a person rather than the argument ([Location 315](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=315)) - abusive ad hominem. ([Location 319](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=319)) - circumstantial ad hominem, ([Location 319](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=319)) - tu quoque ([Location 322](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=322)) - Circular reasoning is one of four types of arguments known as begging the question ([Location 328](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=328)) - “Because of x therefore x,” ([Location 333](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=333)) - A circular argument may at times rely on unstated premisses, ([Location 333](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=333)) - fallacy of composition ([Location 341](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=341)) - putting individual parts together to form a system introduces a new level of complexity, ([Location 344](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=344)) - Note: Emergence. - fallacy of division ([Location 346](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=346)) - deductive arguments ([Location 352](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=352)) - describing them as watertight pipes where truth goes in one end and truth comes out the other end. ([Location 353](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=353)) - complexities of inductive arguments where probability comes into play. ([Location 355](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=355)) - dangers of flimsy arguments ([Location 356](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00M9P7JKI&location=356))