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| Logical Fallacies |
| Ad Hominem |
| Attacking the person instead of attacking his argument. For example, "Von Daniken's books about ancient astronauts are worthless because he is a convicted forger and embezzler." (Which is true, but that's not why they're worthless.) |
| Non Sequitur |
| Something that just does not follow. For example, "Tens of thousands of Americans have seen lights in the night sky which they could not identify. The existence of life on other planets is fast becoming certainty!" |
| Red Herring |
| Use of distraction; |
| Ex. Nixon discusses communists instead of dealing with the illegal fund. |
| Emotive language |
| Emotional appeals |
| -Nixon |
| Euphemism |
| The use of words that sound better. |
| Ex. The lab rat wasn't killed, it was sacrificed. It wasn't genocide, it was ethnic cleansing. |
| Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc |
| After this, therefore because of this. |
| Ex. Spending doubled when he took over as governor, therefore, he is a wasteful spender. |
| Hasty Generalization |
| Jumping to conclusions. |
| Ex. All Schoharie County residents hunt deer. |
| Equivocation |
| False Analogy |
| Unwarranted comparison. If one of our nuclear nay-sayers came across an elephant romping through the woods next to our plant, then he'd probably blame his ridiculous nose on the nuclear bogey man. -"Mr. Burns" from The Simpsons comparing a mutated third eye of a radioactive fish to the evolved nose of an elephant. |
| Begging the Question |
| Circular logic - Nixon |
| Now, was that wrong? And let me say that it was wrong. I'm saying, incidentally, that it was wrong and not just illegal. Because it isn't a question of whether it was legal or illegal, that isn't enough. The question is, was it morally wrong? -Nixon |
| Redefine |
| It was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate that he'd sent all the way from Texas. Black and white spotted. And our little girl-Tricia, the 6-year old-named it Checkers. And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we're gonna keep it. |
| Let me say this: I don't believe that I ought to quit because I'm not a quitter. |
| Two-Valued Orientation |
| Something is either completely right or completely wrong. (related to over-simplification.) |
| Regardless of what happens I'm going to continue this fight. I'm going to campaign up and down America until we drive the crooks and the Communists and those that defend them out of Washington. And remember, folks, Eisenhower is a great man. Believe me. He's a great man. And a vote for Eisenhower is a vote for what's good for America. - Nixon |