Logical Fallacies

Sometimes we find that we make claims that sound logical but still aren't necessarily true. 

For example, it may seem logical to say that President Obama's political agenda is worthless because he is dumb.

This example is called ad hominem (to the man); it means that someone is attacking someone on a personal level (we might call it a "low blow") instead of attacking the ideas or political agendas themselves.

Review
In class, we've discussed tautology, or circular reasoning.  This is the kind of reasoning that parents resort to with their demanding toddlers: "I said you can't have the cookie because you can't have the cookie!"

We've also discussed straw men, the practice of attacking an opinion in order to make your opinion look better, even though no one would fairly adhere to the opinion anyway.  It's always a good idea to represent opposing view points, but we need to represent them fairly.

Learn More
Follow this link to a handout compiled by the writing center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Go heels!), you'll find more information and examples.