A: Logical fallacies use faulty reasoning to make it seem like a claim or argument is true when it’s actually invalid and not supported by evidence.
TL: DR; Being aware of logical fallacies can help us be more savvy when it comes to evaluating (and making) claims and arguments.
Logical fallacies take several forms and are not only used by people aiming to spread misinformation, but sometimes by friends and family, and even ourselves (oopsies)!
Those Nerdy Girls have written about several of them:
✳️ Appeal to authority: when someone argues something is true solely because an authority figure says it is true.
✳️ False dichotomy: when someone suggests there are only two sides or choices and ignores other possibilities.
✳️ Strawman: when someone states an oversimplified version of an argument and then attacks that version instead of addressing the original point.
✳️ Post hoc: when someone argues that event A must have been the cause of event B simply because event A came before event B.
✳️ False equivalence: when someone tries to make two things seem more similar than they actually are by emphasizing their shared features and ignoring key differences.
✳️ Ad hominem: when someone attacks the character of a person rather than his or her opinions or arguments. See here and here.
Special thanks to Nerdy Girl alumna, Kristen Panthagani, who wrote many of our prior posts on this topic. See additional posts on logical fallacies here.
Brushing up on common logical fallacies can help us spot them in others claims and arguments and avoid using them ourselves!
P.S. A few other resources on logical fallacies that we recommend are:
‘Arguments & Evidence” lesson from The News Literacy Project‘s free Checkology virtual classroom (see here.)
Purdue University online writing lab article (see here).
