Shotgun Argumentation - Informal Fallacies - Red Herring Fallacies

Red Herring Fallacies

A red herring fallacy is an error in logic where a proposition is, or is intended to be, misleading in order to make irrelevant or false inferences. In the general case any logical inference based on fake arguments, intended to replace the lack of real arguments or to replace implicitly the subject of the discussion.
Red herring – argument given in response to another argument, which is irrelevant and draws attention away from the subject of argument. See also irrelevant conclusion.

  • Ad hominem – attacking the arguer instead of the argument.
    • Poisoning the well – a type of ad hominem where adverse information about a target is presented with the intention of discrediting everything that the target person says
    • Abusive fallacy – a subtype of "ad hominem" when it turns into name-calling rather than arguing about the originally proposed argument.
  • Argumentum ad baculum (appeal to the stick, appeal to force, appeal to threat) – an argument made through coercion or threats of force to support position
  • Argumentum ad populum (appeal to widespread belief, bandwagon argument, appeal to the majority, appeal to the people) – where a proposition is claimed to be true or good solely because many people believe it to be so
  • Appeal to equality – where an assertion is deemed true or false based on an assumed pretense of equality.
  • Association fallacy (guilt by association) – arguing that because two things share a property they are the same
  • Appeal to authority – where an assertion is deemed true because of the position or authority of the person asserting it.
    • Appeal to accomplishment – where an assertion is deemed true or false based on the accomplishments of the proposer.
  • Appeal to consequences (argumentum ad consequentiam) – the conclusion is supported by a premise that asserts positive or negative consequences from some course of action in an attempt to distract from the initial discussion
  • Appeal to emotion – where an argument is made due to the manipulation of emotions, rather than the use of valid reasoning.
    • Appeal to fear – a specific type of appeal to emotion where an argument is made by increasing fear and prejudice towards the opposing side
    • Appeal to flattery – a specific type of appeal to emotion where an argument is made due to the use of flattery to gather support.
    • Appeal to pity (argumentum ad misericordiam) – an argument attempts to induce pity to sway opponents
    • Appeal to ridicule – an argument is made by presenting the opponent's argument in a way that makes it appear ridiculous
    • Appeal to spite – a specific type of appeal to emotion where an argument is made through exploiting people's bitterness or spite towards an opposing party
    • Wishful thinking – a specific type of appeal to emotion where a decision is made according to what might be pleasing to imagine, rather than according to evidence or reason.
  • Appeal to motive – where a premise is dismissed by calling into question the motives of its proposer
  • Appeal to novelty (argumentum ad novitam/antiquitam) – where a proposal is claimed to be superior or better solely because it is new or modern.
  • Appeal to poverty (argumentum ad Lazarum) – supporting a conclusion because the arguer is poor (or refuting because the arguer is wealthy). (Opposite of appeal to wealth.)
  • Appeal to tradition (argumentum ad antiquitam) – a conclusion supported solely because it has long been held to be true.
  • Appeal to nature - wherein judgement is based solely on whether the subject of judgement is 'natural' or 'unnatural'. For example (hypothetical): "Cannabis is healthy because it is natural"
  • Appeal to wealth (argumentum ad crumenam) – supporting a conclusion because the arguer is wealthy (or refuting because the arguer is poor). (Sometimes taken together with the appeal to poverty as a general appeal to the arguer's financial situation.)
  • Appeal to worse problems – dismissing an argument due to the existence of more important, but unrelated, problems in the world
  • Argument from silence (argumentum ex silentio) – a conclusion based on silence or lack of contrary evidence
  • Bulverism (Psychogenetic Fallacy) - inferring why an argument is being used, associating it to some psychological reason, then assuming it is invalid as a result. It is wrong to assume that if the origin of an idea comes from a biased mind, then the idea itself must also be a false.
  • Chronological snobbery – where a thesis is deemed incorrect because it was commonly held when something else, clearly false, was also commonly held
  • Genetic fallacy – where a conclusion is suggested based solely on something or someone's origin rather than its current meaning or context.
  • Judgmental language – insulting or pejorative language to influence the recipient's judgment
  • Naturalistic fallacy (is–ought fallacy, naturalistic fallacy) – claims about what ought to be on the basis of statements about what is.
  • Reductio ad Hitlerum (playing the Nazi card) – comparing an opponent or their argument to Hitler or Nazism in an attempt to associate a position with one that is universally reviled (See also – Godwin's law)
  • Straw man – an argument based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position
  • Texas sharpshooter fallacy – improperly asserting a cause to explain a cluster of data
  • Tu quoque ("you too", appeal to hypocrisy, I'm rubber and you're glue) – the argument states that a certain position is false or wrong and/or should be disregarded because its proponent fails to act consistently in accordance with that position
  • Two wrongs make a right – occurs when it is assumed that if one wrong is committed, another wrong will cancel it out.

Read more about this topic:  Shotgun Argumentation, Informal Fallacies

Famous quotes containing the words red and/or herring:

    The dog-wood breaks white
    The pear-tree has caught
    The apple is a red blaze
    The peach has already withered its own leaves
    The wild plum-tree is alight.
    Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)

    Have caviar if you like, but it tastes like herring to me.
    William A. Drake (1900–1965)