别让这些逻辑谬误，毁了你的深度思考力
You’ve seen them on social media. You’ve heard them in movie dialogue. You’ve probably even used them yourself. They’re logical fallacies, those not-quite logically sound statements that might seem solid at first glance, but crumble the moment you give them a second thought.
Logical fallacies are everywhere. Being able to identify logical fallacies in others’ writing as well as in your own will make you a more critical thinker, which in turn will make you a stronger writer and reader. As you’ll see below, there are a lot of ways an argument can be flawed. Take a look at some of the most commonly used logical fallacies.
Red herring
A red herring is an attempt to shift focus from the debate at hand by introducing an irrelevant point. Example: Losing a tooth can be scary, but have you heard about the Tooth Fairy?
Straw man
A straw man argument is one that argues against an inaccurate version of the opposition rather than their actual argument. Example: Erin thinks we need to stop using all plastics, right now, to save the planet from climate change.
Ad hominem
An ad hominem fallacy is one that directed against a person, rather than against what that person says. Example: You have no idea what you’re talking about; you’ve only lived here for six months.
False dilemma
A false dilemma claims there are only two options in a given situation. Often, these two options are extreme opposites of each other, failing to acknowledge that other, more reasonable, options exist. Example: If you don’t support my decision, you were never really my friend.
Causal fallacy
A causal fallacy is one that implies a relationship between two things where one can’t actually be proven. Example: When ice cream sales are up, so are shark attacks. Therefore, buying ice cream increases your risk of being bitten by a shark.