Every fallacy, named and explained.
A working reference of 37 logical fallacies — with plain-language definitions, real-world examples, and links to the full guide for each.
Ad Hominem
An ad hominem fallacy attacks a person's character instead of addressing their argument.
Ambiguity
The ambiguity fallacy relies on vague or shifting meanings to make an argument appear valid.
Anecdotal
The anecdotal fallacy treats a personal story as proof instead of using reliable evidence.
Appeal to Authority
An appeal to authority claims something is true because an authority figure says it, without adequate evidence.
Appeal to Emotion
The appeal to emotion fallacy uses feelings as the primary evidence instead of reasons or facts.
Appeal to Fear
An appeal to fear tries to persuade by frightening people rather than presenting evidence.
Appeal to Ignorance
An appeal to ignorance claims something is true because it has not been proven false (or vice versa).
Appeal to Nature
The appeal to nature fallacy assumes something is good or right simply because it is natural.
Appeal to Pity
An appeal to pity uses sympathy, guilt, or distress as a substitute for evidence, pressuring you to accept a claim because someone is suffering rather than because the claim is true.
Appeal to Tradition
The appeal to tradition fallacy argues something is right because it has always been done that way.
Bandwagon
The bandwagon fallacy treats popularity as proof that a belief or decision is correct.
Begging the Question
Begging the question is a logical fallacy where an argument's premise already assumes the truth of its conclusion, so the claim ends up supporting itself instead of being supported by evidence.
Burden of Proof
The burden of proof fallacy shifts the responsibility to disprove a claim instead of proving it.
Cherry Picking
Cherry picking is a logical fallacy where someone presents only the evidence that supports their claim while ignoring the evidence that undercuts it—every cited fact may be true, yet the overall picture is false.
Circular Reasoning
Circular reasoning uses the conclusion as one of its premises, providing no independent support.
Composition
The composition fallacy assumes what is true of parts must be true of the whole.
Correlation ≠ Causation
The correlation versus causation fallacy assumes that because two things move together, one causes the other.
Division
The division fallacy assumes what is true of the whole must be true of each part.
Equivocation
Equivocation shifts the meaning of a key word or phrase to make an argument seem valid.
Fallacy Fallacy
The fallacy fallacy is the mistake of concluding that a claim is false simply because someone used a bad argument to support it.
False Analogy
A false analogy compares two things that are not similar in the ways that matter.
False Cause
The false cause fallacy assumes a causal relationship without adequate evidence.
False Dilemma
A false dilemma fallacy presents only two options when more possibilities exist.
False Equivalence
False equivalence is a logical fallacy that treats two things as equally credible, serious, or comparable when they differ in the ways that matter—like giving a fringe opinion the same weight as expert consensus.
Gambler’s Fallacy
The gambler's fallacy assumes past random events make a future outcome more likely.
Genetic Fallacy
The genetic fallacy judges a claim based on its source rather than its evidence.
Hasty Generalization
A hasty generalization draws a broad conclusion from too little or unrepresentative evidence.
Loaded Question
A loaded question is a question that smuggles an unproven or damaging assumption into its wording, so any direct answer forces you to accept the hidden premise.
Middle Ground
The middle ground fallacy assumes a compromise is always correct simply because it is between two extremes.
Moving the Goalposts
Moving the goalposts changes the criteria for success after those criteria have been met.
No True Scotsman
The no true Scotsman fallacy redefines a group to exclude counterexamples and protect a claim.
Post Hoc
Post hoc fallacy assumes that because one event followed another, the first caused the second.
Red Herring
A red herring fallacy distracts from the original issue by introducing an irrelevant topic.
Slippery Slope
A slippery slope claims a small step will inevitably lead to extreme outcomes without evidence.
Straw Man
A straw man fallacy distorts someone's position to make it easier to attack.
Texas Sharpshooter
The Texas sharpshooter fallacy cherry-picks data that fits a pattern while ignoring the rest.
Tu Quoque
Tu quoque dismisses a claim by accusing the speaker of hypocrisy instead of addressing the argument.
How they’re organized.
Fallacies tend to fail in a handful of predictable ways. Grouping them by failure-mode makes them easier to recall in the heat of an argument.
