Fallacies
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There are dozens of lists of fallacies on the web. Only a few are really quality resources:
The Big ThreeThe Fallacy Files by Gary Curtis
An excellent resource which includes a list of the different kinds of fallacies with descriptions, as well as a taxonomy of the fallacies and a large collection of examples.
Stephen's Guide to the Logical Fallacies, by Stephen Downes.
Perhaps the original website devoted to fallacies. "Logical fallacies are errors of reasoning, errors which may be recognized and corrected by prudent thinkers. This site indexes and describes all known logical fallacies."
Bruce Thompson's Fallacy Page(s)
One for the serious fallacy aficionado. Really a mini-textbook; contains general theoretical discussion, as well as a classification, discussion of individual fallacies, and exercises. Probably the most "in depth" treatment available on the web, though in some ways it takes a somewhat distinctive approach. [24 Oct 02]
Other good fallacy sites
"Humbug! Online - a blog for
iconoclasts"
Wicked stuff. "Regular postings based on fallacies covered in our book
Humbug! ... Using a seamless combination of both passion and restraint, we
expose erroneous thinking with irony, whimsy, sarcasm, satire, caricature, "distortature"
and occasional breathtaking hypocrisy. Humbug! the book is a considered and
carefully written commentary on fallacies. Humbug! the blog is less considered,
more spontaneous and at times more outrageous. No poppy is too short to be
lopped." [16 Feb 06]
LogicalFallacies.info
Another compendium of fallacy descriptions. Clean simple presentation. [5
Oct 05]
Thirty-eight dishonest tricks which
are commonly used in argument, with the methods of overcoming them by Robert
Thouless
Classic. Excerpted from Thouless' 1930 book Straight and Crooked
Thinking. Example: "(25) Prestige by the use of pseudo-technical jargon (pp
116-118) Best dealt with by asking in a modest manner that the speaker should
explain himself more simply." Thouless' modest description of his own offering
is priceless: "Practical convenience and practical importance are the criteria I
have used in this list. If we have a plague of flies in the house we buy
fly-papers and not a treatise on the zoological classification of Musca
domestica. This implies no sort of disrespect for zoologists; or for the value
of their work as a first step in the effective control of flies. The present
book bears to the treatises of logicians the relationship of fly-paper to
zoological classifications." [5 May 04]
How Thinking Goes
Wrong: Twenty-five Fallacies That Lead Us to Believe Weird Things by Michael
Shermer
Excerpt from his 1997 book "Why People Believe Weird Things". Categorized as
Problems of Scientific Thinking, Problems of Pseudoscientific Thinking, Logical
Problems in Thinking and Psychological Problems in Thinking. Shermer endorses
"Spinoza's Dictum": "I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to
bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them." [6 Apr 04] Bad Moves by Julian Baggini
"Bad Moves is a weekly series by philosopher Julian Baggini detailing the various ways in which arguments or points are made badly, but often persuasively. Julian Baggini is editor of The Philosophers' Magazine." [16 May 03] Informal Logical Fallacies by Talitha May
"This brief non-technical guide is organized into three informal fallacy categories mainly according to the reference "With Good Reason: An Introduction to Informal Fallacies, Sixth Ed" 2000 by S. Morris Engel." Similar to the Fallacy Files and Stephen's Guide, but simpler, well-organised and all on one page. Has many examples. [1 May 02] Glossary of Mathematical Mistakes by Paul Cox
"This is a list of mathematical mistakes made over and over by advertisers, the media, reporters, politicians, activists, and in general many non-math people. These come from many sources, which will appear in parenthesis. I will try to find an actual example of each for learning purposes." [1 Mar 02] Fallacies of Anti-Reformers by Sydney Smith (1824).
Classic. A review and summary of Jeremy Bentham's timeless catalogue of devious debating strategies deployed by those opposed to progressive reform. "There are a vast number of absurd and mischievous fallacies, which pass readily in the world for sense and virtue, while in truth they tend only to fortify error and encourage crime. Mr. Bentham has enumerated the most conspicuous of these in the book before us." [20 Jun 02]
Conversational Terrorism
by Dean and Laura VanDruff
Nice collection of rhetorical cheats. [17 Nov 04] The Woolly-Thinker's Guide to Rhetoric
"Here you'll find top tips for besting your enemies. As employed by the world's best woolly-thinkers. Learn, for example: how to play the 'biological reductionist' card to maximum effect; how 'language games' can help you out of a sticky situation; and how lucky it is that 'truth' is relative to particular discourses (especially yours)." [16 Mar 03] Fallacy Tutorial Pro
"Fallacy Tutorial Pro is a shareware SuperCard® Standalone application that provides an introduction to informal fallacies (errors in reasoning) as well as three quizzes on these fallacies." EssaysCritical Thinking by Leo Kee Chye
A pleasant and useful introduction to critical thinking whose main content is descriptions of fallacies. Contains many good examples. "Critical thinking or informal logic - its jargonish equivalence - is the process of "reading between the line". Rather than accepting literally the stuffs spooned to us, we filter out the arguments from the information, ‘X-ray’ the arguments and examine them in their skeletal logic."
Last updated:
06 Dec 2007
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