FALLACIES IN LOGIC – PART THREE
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In part two we learned about three fallacies. A fallacy is a trick used in an argument. Fallacies
may make an argument feel right, even if it’s not based on facts.

The three fallacies we learned before were:
1. Post Hoc Fallacy -Saying one thing caused another just because it happened first.
2. False Analogy – Saying if two things are alike in some ways, they are alike in all ways.
3. Appeal to authority – Saying that something is true because someone says it is even if that person is not an expert.

Here are three more fallacies:
Moral Equivalence – Saying that two actions are equally wrong, even though one is small while
the other is serious. These are used to excuse bad behavior or aJack a group of people. Here
are three examples:

• “Native Americans attacked white settlers too. They were no better than the settlers.”
• “Making people register guns is just as bad as Nazis making Jews register with the German government.”
• ”I’m white and I’ve been treated badly by a black person, so I’ve faced racism too.”

Band Wagon Appeal (Ad Populum) – Saying that a person should believe something because
everyone else believes it. This pressures people to “jump on the winning side” or makes them
afraid of standing out.

• “I won by a landslide, so I can do whatever I want.”
• “Everyone else is doing it. Why can’t I?”
• ”It’s obvious to everyone that Social Security is just a Ponzi scheme.”
  The Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare of the 1950s are examples of scaring people into agreeing with one side to avoid punishment.

False Dichotomy Fallacy – Saying there are only two choices when there are really many options. This makes problems seem simpler than they are and forces people to choose sides.

• ”You’re either with us – or against us.”
• ”The only question is: Do you believe in science or do you believe in religion?”
• ”David criticizes Capitalism, so he must be a Communist.”
• “Either you’re my friend or you’re hers.”

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