fallacy
Sign in to saveA fallacy is the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning in the construction of an argument that may appear to be well-reasoned if unnoticed. The term was introduced in the Western intellectual tradition by the Aristotelian De Sophisticis Elenchis.
AI overview
A fallacy is a mistake in reasoning that makes an argument invalid or faulty, even though it might seem convincing at first glance. Understanding fallacies matters because recognizing them helps you evaluate arguments critically and avoid being misled by flawed logic.
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Article
30 sectionsContents
- Overview
- <span id="Material fallacy"></span>Systems of classification
- <span id="Verbal fallacy"></span>Greek logic
- <span id="Verbal fallacy"></span>Indian logic
- Whately's grouping
- Other systems of classification
- Formal fallacy
- Common examples
- Ecological fallacy
- Observational interpretation fallacy
- Fallacy fork
- Informal fallacy
- Faulty generalization
- Hasty generalization
- Relevance fallacy
- Argument from silence
- Examples of informal fallacies
- ''Post hoc'' (false cause)
- Slippery slope
- False analogy
- Straw man fallacy
- Measurement fallacy
- Knowledge value measurement fallacy
- Intentional fallacy
- Assessment: pragmatic theory
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- Historical texts
- External links
A fallacy is the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning in the construction of an argument that may appear to be well-reasoned if unnoticed. The term was introduced in the Western intellectual tradition by the Aristotelian De Sophisticis Elenchis.
Fallacies in reasoning may be invoked intentionally to manipulate or persuade by deception, unintentionally because of human limitations such as carelessness, cognitive or social biases and ignorance, or potentially due to the limitations of language and understanding of language. These delineations include not only the ignorance of the right reasoning standard but also the ignorance of relevant properties of the context. For instance, the soundness of legal arguments depends on the context in which they are made.