Bias List (mobile/cards)

a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter

Literally, "a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter" means "from a qualified statement to a simple statement"; the shorter "dictum simpliciter" means "simple statement". A fallacy in which "a rule that applies only to an exceptional case is wrongly applied to all cases in general". Also, "mistaken use of inductive reasoning when there are too few samples to prove a point." A common example is the misleading statistic, a statistic seems compelling the way it is presented, but a fuller picture would show otherwise. A component fallacy. See also: ignoring qualifications, secundum quid, secundum quid et simpliciter, sweeping generalization.

AKA: a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter, converse accident, destroying the exception, dicto simpliciter, hasty generalization, jumping to conclusions, reverse accident

Ref: [1], [2], [31], [32]

ID: 735_lf

a dicto simpliciter ad dictum secundum quid

A fallacy in which "an acceptable exception is ignored". A form of: secundum quid, secundum quid et simpliciter

AKA: accident, a dicto simpliciter ad dictum secundum quid

Ref: [32]

ID: 779_lf

a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do

This fallacy draws a conclusion based on (potentially prejudiced identity or gender-based) feelings or emotion not necessarily having a foundation in logical reasoning (e.g., it is possible that they do not really have to arrive at that outcome). A form of the affective fallacy.

AKA: a person's got to do what a person's got to do, a woman's got to do what a woman's got to do, I've got to do what I've got to do

Ref: [3]

ID: 693_lf

a person's got to do what a person's got to do

This fallacy draws a conclusion based on (potentially prejudiced identity or gender-based) feelings or emotion not necessarily having a foundation in logical reasoning (e.g., it is possible that they do not really have to arrive at that outcome). A form of the affective fallacy.

AKA: a person's got to do what a person's got to do, a man's got to do what a man's got to do, a woman's got to do what a woman's got to do, I've got to do what I've got to do

Ref: [3]

ID: 910_lf

A tendency to act even when there is no problem or when no action would be more effective for the given problem.

Ref: [6]

ID: 098_cb

actions have consequences

An incorrect assertion (based on some kind of rules) that a punishment for an occurrance is instead a consequence." A corrupt argument from ethos." (Procedures invoked by a third party may result in eventual punishment, but that outcome is not accurately a direct or necessary consequence of the initial event.) See also: blaming the victim. Opposite of: moral licensing.

Ref: [3]

ID: 041_lf

actor-observer bias

A tendency for the description of an actor's behavior to over-emphasize the observer's personality (while under-emphasizing the actor's scenario). Also, the opposite--a tendency for an actor's description of their own behavior to have the reverse pattern: over-emphasizing their own scenario while under-emphasizing the effect of their own personality.

Ref: [6]

ID: 099_cb

ad Hitleram

An example of ad hominem or guilt by association that invokes a specific extreme persona from history.

AKA: reductio ad Hitlerum

Ref: [3]

ID: 696_lf

ad hominem argument

Arguing against the opposing party instead of the reasoning given by the opposing party. This might question the intelligence, credentials, or character of the opposition. A "corrupted negative argument from ethos". Subcategories include abusive and circumstantial types. A fallacy of relevance. The opposite of star power. An obverse is token endorsement. See also: guilt by association.

AKA: ad hominem argument, argumentum ad hominem, argument toward the man, attacking the person, personal attack, poisoning the well

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 495_lf

additive bias

A tendency to solve problems by adding things (for example, instead of by removing things).

Ref: [6]

ID: 100_cb

affective fallacy

"An emotional appeal to what should be a logical issue". "Opposite to this is...chosen emotion fallacy. Often, "a fallacy of encouragement to root of the underdog regardless of the issues at hand". "A corrupt argument from pathos." A fallacy of relevance. Closely related to angelism. "Opposite to this is...chosen emotion fallacy." Opposite of: appeal to rigor.

AKA: affective fallacy, appeal to emotion, appeal to pity, argument from pity, argumentum ad misericordiam, emotion over reflection, follow your heart, playing to emotions, romantic fallacy

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 373_lf

affordable units fallacy

A mistaken belief that "building luxury apartments doesn't improve the affordabilty of existing apartments, or even that it increases their prices". A fallacy surrounding: capitalism.

Ref: [27]

ID: 850_lf

after this therefore because of this

A mistaken conclusion that one event must have been caused by a specific earlier event. Example of: correlation implies causation, cum hoc ergo propter hoc, coincidental correlation, false cause, false cause and effect, non causa pro causa, not the cause for the cause.

AKA: after this therefore because of this, clustering illusion, post hoc argument, post hoc propter hoc, post hoc ergo propter hoc, too much of a coincidence

Ref: [1], [2], [4]

ID: 790_lf

agent detection bias

A tendency to assume that an actor is intentionally intervening in a scenario.

Ref: [6]

ID: 101_cb

all or nothing thinking

A conclusion is reached based on there only being two possible options, when really the possibilities are not so limited. A component fallacy.

AKA: bifurcation, black/white fallacy, black and white fallacy, either or fallacy, either/or reasoning, excluded middle, false binary, false dichotomy, false dilemma

Ref:

ID: 374_lf

all's fair in love and war

Starting with certain requirements for a decision, then, when, the criteria are met, requiring a higher bar. "A fallacy of logos".

AKA: changing the rules, moving the goalposts, nuclear option, winning isn't everything it's the only thing

Ref: [3]

ID: 496_lf

alpha-male speech

A form of "frank, unguarded or uninhibited offensive expression". A fallacy that holds that some words are excempt from criticism because they are simply the true expression of some perspective having merit due to their representing the uncensored expression of true feelings. See also: venting. See also: affective fallacy. Opposite to this are political correctness and scripted message.

AKA: locker-room talk, bad-boy talk

Ref: [3]

ID: 497_lf

alphabet soup

The use of jargon such as acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations consisting of letters (and possibly numbers) to impress, to build rapport, to confuse, or to obfuscate, ultimately resulting in loss of communication regarding what is being said or why an argument would be valid, and instead relying on potentially invalid shortcuts to reach a conclusion. See also: name calling.

Ref: [3]

ID: 045_lf

alt facts

A fallacy holding that objective facts and truth cannot really exist, are not durable, or are really subjective. A "fallacy of logos rooted in postmodernism". Related to: big lie technique. See also: gaslighting, blind loyalty, big brain little brain fallacy, two truths.

AKA: alt facts, alternate facts, alternative truth, counterknowledge, disinformation, information pollution

Ref: [3]

ID: 375_lf

alternate facts

A fallacy holding that objective facts and truth cannot really exist, are not durable, or are really subjective. A "fallacy of logos rooted in postmodernism". Related to: big lie technique. See also: gaslighting, blind loyalty, big brain little brain fallacy, two truths.

An argument that since all data is never available, therefore no decision can ever be made and action should always be delayed. A "corruption of...argument from logos". See also: law of unintended consequences.

AKA: analysis paralysis, nirvana fallacy, paralysis of analysis, procrastination

Ref: [3]

ID: 729_lf

anchoring bias

A tendency to rely too much on one particular thing (often the first available thing) when considering a decision. See also: common source bias, conservatism bias, functional fixedness, law of the instrument.

AKA: focalism

Ref: [6]

ID: 103_cb

and you too

An argument that something is acceptable because the opposition has also done it or an argument that an offered position must be false because the party putting it forth has not always acted in accordance with the position that they put forth. A "corrupt argument form ethos". A form of ad hominem. See also: ego quoque, nos quoque.

AKA: and you too, appeal to hypocrisy, tu quoque, two wrongs make a right, you also, you do it too

Ref: [1], [2], [3], [4]

ID: 536_lf

angelism

A fallacy of "falsely claiming that one is capable of objective reasoning and judgment without emotion". In other words, "falsely claiming for oneself a viewpoint of...disinterested objectivity or pretending to place onself far above all...bias." Related to affective fallacy.

Ref: [3]

ID: 043_lf

anthropic bias

The tendency for observations about the universe to only be made when there is someone to observe the data or to do the study. Subforms include: weak anthropic principle (universe fine tuning being the result of survivorship bias), strong anthropic principle (the universe being compleled to have conscious, sapient life), participatory anthropic principle (the universe must be observed to exist), final anthropic principle (informational processing as inherent to universe existence). An example of: selection effect.

AKA: anthropic bias, anthropic principle, anthropic selection effect, observation selection effect

Ref: [19], [20]

ID: 069_

anthropic principle

The tendency for observations about the universe to only be made when there is someone to observe the data or to do the study. Subforms include: weak anthropic principle (universe fine tuning being the result of survivorship bias), strong anthropic principle (the universe being compleled to have conscious, sapient life), participatory anthropic principle (the universe must be observed to exist), final anthropic principle (informational processing as inherent to universe existence). An example of: selection effect.

AKA: anthropic bias, anthropic principle, anthropic selection effect, observation selection effect

Ref: [19], [20]

ID: 507_

anthropic selection effect

Any bias introduced by the fact of observing from the perspective of an intelligence that has come into existence (for example, ruling out observations that hypothetically might occur but would not be observable by people). Not simply the bias of having only observed some things (e.g., observation selection effects), but the bias only having the opportunity to possibly observe some things by the very nature of the observer's existence itself.

AKA: anthropic bias, anthropic principle, anthropic selection effect

Ref: [19]

ID: 514_cb

anthropocentric thinking

A tendency to use analogies about humans when describing other systems. An availability bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 104_cb

anthropomorphism

A tendency to describe non-human things as having human traits. An availability bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 105_cb

apathetic fallacy

The fallacy in which legitimate arguments are ignored due claimed lack of caring.

AKA: burnout, compassion fatigue, cynicism

Ref: [3]

ID: 498_lf

apophenia

A "tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things".

Ref: [6]

ID: 107_cb

appeal to a lack of evidence

A fallacy using lack of knowledge to arrive at a conclusion. One might might say that because a claim cannot be disproven, therefore the opposite must be true. Or, since we do not know (or cannot know, or cannot prove) something, then it must be true (or false). A fallacy of omission. Includes attacking the evidence, whataboutism, and missing link. See also: a priori argument, appealing to closure, deliberate ignorance, simpleton's fallacy, argumentum ex silentio.

AKA: appeal to a lack of evidence, appeal to ignorance, argument from ignorance, argumentum ad ignorantiam

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 031_lf

appeal to authority

A fallacy of not "evaluating the...argument on its own merits" and instead simply accepting the conclusion of an individual who may be an expert in a field but whose expertise is unrelated to the argument. A specific form of appeal to improper authority. A subcategory is appeal to biased authority. A fallacy of relevance.

AKA: argument from modesty, appeal to authority, appeal to improper authority, argumentum ad verecundium, argument from that which is improper

Ref: [1], [2]

ID: 378_lf

appeal to biased authority

A fallacy of simply accepting the conclusion of an individual who may be an expert in a field but "who may have professional or personal motivations that render his professional judgement suspect". A specific form of appeal to improper authority.

Ref: [1]

ID: 038_lf

appeal to closure

See also Appeal to a Lack of Evidence, Argument From Adverse Consequences. Opposite of Paralysis of Analysis.

Ref: [3]

ID: 047_lf

appeal to emotion

"An emotional appeal to what should be a logical issue". "Opposite to this is...chosen emotion fallacy. Often, "a fallacy of encouragement to root of the underdog regardless of the issues at hand". "A corrupt argument from pathos." A fallacy of relevance. Closely related to angelism. "Opposite to this is...chosen emotion fallacy." Opposite of: appeal to rigor.

AKA: affective fallacy, appeal to emotion, appeal to pity, argument from pity, argumentum ad misericordiam, emotion over reflection, follow your heart, playing to emotions, romantic fallacy

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 007_lf

appeal to fear

A fallacy in which one takes "advantage of a emergent or deliberately-created crisis and its associated public shock, panic and chaos in order to impose an argument, action or solution that would be clearly unacceptable if carefully considered". A "corrupted argument from pathos". A form of playing on emotions. See also: shopping hungry fallacy, dog-whistle politics, we have to do something, worst-case fallacy.

AKA: appeal to fear, bogeyman fallacy, paranoia, scare tactics, shockdoc, shock doctrine, rally 'round the flag, rally 'round the president

Ref: [3]

ID: 698_lf

appeal to force

A fallacy in which a conclusion is reached due to force, threat of force, or threat of unpleasantness. A fallacy of relevance, since reason for conclusion is not relevant to the argument at hand.

AKA: appeal to force, argument from force, argument from strength, argument from the club (stick), argumentum ad baculum, bullying, fascism, hard power, might-makes-right, muscular leadership, non-negotiable demands, power-play, resolution by force of arms, shock and awe

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 001_lf

appeal to heaven

A fallacy based on claiming to know God's mind and wishes, which cannot really be challenged. A "deluded argument from ethos". Opposite of: Job's comforter fallacy.

AKA: American exceptionalism, argumentum ad coelum, Deus vult, Gott mit uns, manifest destiny, special covenant

Ref: [3]

ID: 048_lf

appeal to hypocrisy

An argument that something is acceptable because the opposition has also done it or an argument that an offered position must be false because the party putting it forth has not always acted in accordance with the position that they put forth. A "corrupt argument form ethos". A form of ad hominem. See also: ego quoque, nos quoque.

AKA: and you too, appeal to hypocrisy, tu quoque, two wrongs make a right, you also, you do it too

Ref: [1], [2], [3], [4]

ID: 033_lf

appeal to ignorance

A fallacy using lack of knowledge to arrive at a conclusion. One might might say that because a claim cannot be disproven, therefore the opposite must be true. Or, since we do not know (or cannot know, or cannot prove) something, then it must be true (or false). A fallacy of omission. Includes attacking the evidence, whataboutism, and missing link. See also: a priori argument, appealing to closure, deliberate ignorance, simpleton's fallacy, argumentum ex silentio.

AKA: appeal to a lack of evidence, appeal to ignorance, argument from ignorance, argumentum ad ignorantiam

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 379_lf

appeal to improper authority

A fallacy of not "evaluating the...argument on its own merits" and instead simply accepting the conclusion of an individual who may be an expert in a field but whose expertise is unrelated to the argument. A specific form of appeal to improper authority. A subcategory is appeal to biased authority. A fallacy of relevance.

AKA: argument from modesty, appeal to authority, appeal to improper authority, argumentum ad verecundium, argument from that which is improper

Ref: [1], [2]

ID: 006_lf

appeal to nature

A fallacy that just because something is natural, therefore "it has to be good, healthy, and beneficial". A "contemporary romantic fallacy of ethos". See also: argument from natural law.

AKA: appeal to nature, biologizing, green fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 049_lf

appeal to novelty

A fallacy that a view or other thing must be correct or better because it is new or recent.

AKA: appeal to novelty, bad old days, early adopter's fallacy, pro-innovation bias, recency bias

Ref: [3]

ID: 051_lf

appeal to pity

"An emotional appeal to what should be a logical issue". "Opposite to this is...chosen emotion fallacy. Often, "a fallacy of encouragement to root of the underdog regardless of the issues at hand". "A corrupt argument from pathos." A fallacy of relevance. Closely related to angelism. "Opposite to this is...chosen emotion fallacy." Opposite of: appeal to rigor.

AKA: affective fallacy, appeal to emotion, appeal to pity, argument from pity, argumentum ad misericordiam, emotion over reflection, follow your heart, playing to emotions, romantic fallacy

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 050_lf

appeal to popular opinion

A fallacy claiming that something is true because it is believed by most people (or by "everyone," "the people," "the majority" or "someone in power who has widespread backing"). A fallacy of relevance. Sub-approaches can include bandwagon ("everyone's doing it"); patriotic ("it is patriotic"); snob "the best people are doing it"; and covering oneself with the cross ("it's Christian"). Can include: lying with statistics. A modern form is: information cascade.

AKA: argument from common sense, argument to the people, argumentum ad populum, appeal to popular opinion, bandwagon, bandwagon fallacy

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 380_lf

appeal to privacy

A fallacy of preventing discussion of one's point by "drawing a phony curtian of privacy around oneself and one's actions". A counterpart is: heart of darkness syndrome, I think we're alone now, nobody will ever know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

AKA: appeal to privacy, mind your own business, MYOB, none of yer beeswax, so what, you're not the boss of me

Ref: [3]

ID: 699_lf

appeal to rigor

A fallacy arguing based on mercilessness (showing no fear or pity). "Often based on machismo or on manipulating an audience's fear." Can apply to "politically-motivated or elitist calls for academic rigor". Can apply to criticism of developmental or remedial classes, open admissions, dumbing down, and grade inflation. Opposite of: affective fallacy, appeal to emotion, appeal to pity, argument from pity, argumentum ad misericordiam, emotion over reflection, follow your heart, playing to emotions, romantic fallacy.

Ref: [3]

ID: 500_lf

appeal to tradition

A fallacy of holding a position as correct or a thing (scenario or deed) as good because it has always been that way or was that way long ago (and might still "serve one particular group very well"). A fallacy of relevance. A "corrupted argument from ethos" (from the past). Often related in time to the audience's young years, but not prior. Opposite of: appeal to novelty, bad old days, early adopter's fallacy, pro-innovation bias, recency bias.

AKA: appeal to tradition, argumentum ad traditionem, argumentum ad antiquitatem, back in those good times, conservative bias, good old days

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 005_lf

appeasement

A fallacy of obtaining a result not through argument but through the audience's willingness to give in so that the opposition will simply be satisfied, quieter, or no longer a nuisance. Common in public agencies, education, and retail. Sometimes promoted as a practical, nonviolent way for groups to promote change. See also: bribery.

AKA: appeasement, assertiveness, I know my rights, squeaky wheel gets the grease

Ref: [3]

ID: 052_lf

arguing beside the point

A fallacy of switching attention to a different issue (which might be a valid issue but is unrelated to the topic at hand). A component fallacy. Similar to: begging the question. A common form: the red herring. Another example: tu quoque, and you too.

AKA: arguing beside the point, ignorantio elenchi, ignoring the issue, irrelevant conclusion

Ref: [1], [2]

ID: 381_lf

arguing in bad faith

A fallacy of putting forth an argument that the argue knows is invalid. Includes: motivational truth, demagogy, campaign promises, self deception, whistling by the graveyward.

AKA: arguing in bad faith, mala fides, sophism

Ref: [3]

ID: 700_lf

argument from adverse consequences

A fallacy of claiming that something cannot be true because, if it were true, that would be bad or have a negative effect (while in reality the validity of the claim does not actually depend on the positive or negative impact of the claims). A fallacy of relevance. (See also: outcome bias. Do not confuse with: actions have consequences.

AKA: argument from adverse consequences, argument from consequences, outcome bias

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 008_lf

argument from common sense

A fallacy claiming that something is true because it is believed by most people (or by "everyone," "the people," "the majority" or "someone in power who has widespread backing"). A fallacy of relevance. Sub-approaches can include bandwagon ("everyone's doing it"); patriotic ("it is patriotic"); snob "the best people are doing it"; and covering oneself with the cross ("it's Christian"). Can include: lying with statistics. A modern form is: information cascade.

AKA: argument from common sense, argument to the people, argumentum ad populum, appeal to popular opinion, bandwagon, bandwagon fallacy

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 383_lf

argument from consequences

A fallacy of claiming that something cannot be true because, if it were true, that would be bad or have a negative effect (while in reality the validity of the claim does not actually depend on the positive or negative impact of the claims). A fallacy of relevance. (See also: outcome bias. Do not confuse with: actions have consequences.

AKA: argument from adverse consequences, argument from consequences, outcome bias

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 053_lf

argument from force

A fallacy in which a conclusion is reached due to force, threat of force, or threat of unpleasantness. A fallacy of relevance, since reason for conclusion is not relevant to the argument at hand.

AKA: appeal to force, argument from force, argument from strength, argument from the club (stick), argumentum ad baculum, bullying, fascism, hard power, might-makes-right, muscular leadership, non-negotiable demands, power-play, resolution by force of arms, shock and awe

Ref: [1]. [3]

ID: 701_lf

argument from ignorance

A fallacy using lack of knowledge to arrive at a conclusion. One might might say that because a claim cannot be disproven, therefore the opposite must be true. Or, since we do not know (or cannot know, or cannot prove) something, then it must be true (or false). A fallacy of omission. Includes attacking the evidence, whataboutism, and missing link. See also: a priori argument, appealing to closure, deliberate ignorance, simpleton's fallacy, argumentum ex silentio.

AKA: appeal to a lack of evidence, appeal to ignorance, argument from ignorance, argumentum ad ignorantiam

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 384_lf

argument from incredulity

A fallacy of asserting that an argument must not be true just because one personally does not understand it or cannot grasp its technical aspects.

AKA: argument from incredulity, argument from personal incredulity

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 385_lf

argument from inertia

A believe that "it is necessary to continue on a mistaken course of action regardless of pain and sacrifice involved and even after discovering it is mistaken, because changing course would mean admitting that one's decision (or one's leader, or one's country, or one's faith) was wrong, and all one's effort, expense, sacrifice and even bloodshed was for nothing, and that's unthinkable". A form of: argument from consequences, E for effort, or appeal to tradition. See also: throwing good money after bad.

AKA: argument from inertia, stay the course

Ref: [3]

ID: 057_lf

argument from modesty

A fallacy of not "evaluating the...argument on its own merits" and instead simply accepting the conclusion of an individual who may be an expert in a field but whose expertise is unrelated to the argument. A specific form of appeal to improper authority. A subcategory is appeal to biased authority. A fallacy of relevance.

AKA: argument from modesty, appeal to authority, appeal to improper authority, argumentum ad verecundium, argument from that which is improper

Ref: [1], [2]

ID: 386_lf

argument from motives

A fallacy of claiming a point to be false simply on account of improper or evil motives of the person making the claim. See also: moral licensing.

AKA: argument from motives, questioning motives

Ref: [3]

ID: 501_lf

argument from mystery

A fallacy in which some "facts, evidence, practices or arguments" gain weight due to a "quasi-hypnotic effect" that "can often persuade more strongly than any logical argument" derived from special sounds, postures, clothing, rituals, recitations, chants, ancient languages, or other effects introducing a sense of the unknown. Example: long ago and far away. See also: esoteric knowledge. An obverse: standard version fallacy.

AKA: argument from mystery, argumentum ad mysteriam, mystagogy

Ref: [3]

ID: 387_lf

argument from natural law

A fallacy in which something is deemed to be true or untrue, or good or bad, as a result of being natural or unnatural (or "against nature") as judged by one's own authority to determine what is natural or unnatural.

Ref: [3]

ID: 502_lf

argument from personal incredulity

A fallacy of asserting that an argument must not be true just because one personally does not understand it or cannot grasp its technical aspects. A fallacy of relevance.

AKA: argument from incredulity, argument from personal incredulity

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 009_lf

argument from pity

"An emotional appeal to what should be a logical issue". "Opposite to this is...chosen emotion fallacy. Often, "a fallacy of encouragement to root of the underdog regardless of the issues at hand". "A corrupt argument from pathos." A fallacy of relevance. Closely related to angelism. "Opposite to this is...chosen emotion fallacy." Opposite of: appeal to rigor.

AKA: affective fallacy, appeal to emotion, appeal to pity, argument from pity, argumentum ad misericordiam, emotion over reflection, follow your heart, playing to emotions, romantic fallacy

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 388_lf

argument from silence

A fallacy in which it is claimed that, just because the currently available knowledge or evidence cannot prove anything about a claim, therefore this in itself proves that status of the claim as true or false (whereas, really, additional evidence or facts could be sought).

AKA: argument from silence, argumentum ex silentio

Ref: [3]

ID: 389_lf

argument from strength

A fallacy in which a conclusion is reached due to force, threat of force, or threat of unpleasantness. A fallacy of relevance, since reason for conclusion is not relevant to the argument at hand.

AKA: appeal to force, argument from force, argument from strength, argument from the club (stick), argumentum ad baculum, bullying, fascism, hard power, might-makes-right, muscular leadership, non-negotiable demands, power-play, resolution by force of arms, shock and awe

Ref: [3]

ID: 702_lf

argument from that which is improper

A fallacy of not "evaluating the...argument on its own merits" and instead simply accepting the conclusion of an individual who may be an expert in a field but whose expertise is unrelated to the argument. A specific form of appeal to improper authority. A subcategory is appeal to biased authority. A fallacy of relevance.

AKA: argument from modesty, appeal to authority, appeal to improper authority, argumentum ad verecundium, argument from that which is improper

Ref: [1], [2]

ID: 390_lf

argument from the club (stick)

A fallacy in which a conclusion is reached due to force, threat of force, or threat of unpleasantness. A fallacy of relevance, since reason for conclusion is not relevant to the argument at hand.

AKA: appeal to force, argument from force, argument from strength, argument from the club (stick), argumentum ad baculum, bullying, fascism, hard power, might-makes-right, muscular leadership, non-negotiable demands, power-play, resolution by force of arms, shock and awe

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 391_lf

argument from the negative

Often interchangeable with Argumentum Ad ignorantiam. A fallacy of omission.

AKA: argumentum ad ignorantiam

Ref: [1]

ID: 030_lf

argument to the people

A fallacy claiming that something is true because it is believed by most people (or by "everyone," "the people," "the majority" or "someone in power who has widespread backing"). A fallacy of relevance. Sub-approaches can include bandwagon ("everyone's doing it"); patriotic ("it is patriotic"); snob "the best people are doing it"; and covering oneself with the cross ("it's Christian"). Can include: lying with statistics. A modern form is: information cascade.

AKA: argument from common sense, argument to the people, argumentum ad populum, appeal to popular opinion, bandwagon, bandwagon fallacy

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 392_lf

argument toward the man

Arguing against the opposing party instead of the reasoning given by the opposing party. This might question the intelligence, credentials, or character of the opposition. A "corrupted negative argument from ethos". Subcategories include abusive and circumstantial types. A fallacy of relevance. The opposite of star power. An obverse is token endorsement. See also: guilt by association.

AKA: ad hominem argument, argumentum ad hominem, argument toward the man, attacking the person, personal attack, poisoning the well

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 393_lf

argumentum ad antiquitatem

A fallacy of holding a position as correct or a thing (scenario or deed) as good because it has always been that way or was that way long ago (and might still "serve one particular group very well"). A fallacy of relevance. A "corrupted argument from ethos" (from the past). Often related in time to the audience's young years, but not prior. Opposite of: appeal to novelty, bad old days, early adopter's fallacy, pro-innovation bias, recency bias.

AKA: appeal to tradition, argumentum ad traditionem, argumentum ad antiquitatem, back in those good times, conservative bias, good old days

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 394_lf

argumentum ad baculum

A fallacy in which a conclusion is reached due to force, threat of force, or threat of unpleasantness. A fallacy of relevance, since reason for conclusion is not relevant to the argument at hand.

AKA: appeal to force, argument from force, argument from strength, argument from the club (stick), argumentum ad baculum, bullying, fascism, hard power, might-makes-right, muscular leadership, non-negotiable demands, power-play, resolution by force of arms, shock and awe

Ref: [3]

ID: 059_lf

argumentum ad coelum

A fallacy based on claiming to know God's mind and wishes, which cannot really be challenged. A "deluded argument from ethos". Opposite of: Job's comforter fallacy.

AKA: American exceptionalism, appeal to heaven, Deus vult, Gott mit uns, manifest destiny, special covenant

Ref: [3]

ID: 395_lf

argumentum ad hominem

Arguing against the opposing party instead of the reasoning given by the opposing party. This might question the intelligence, credentials, or character of the opposition. A "corrupted negative argument from ethos". Subcategories include abusive and circumstantial types. A fallacy of relevance. The opposite of star power. An obverse is token endorsement. See also: guilt by association.

AKA: ad hominem argument, argumentum ad hominem, argument toward the man, attacking the person, personal attack, poisoning the well

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 396_lf

argumentum ad ignorantiam

A fallacy using lack of knowledge to arrive at a conclusion. One might might say that because a claim cannot be disproven, therefore the opposite must be true. Or, since we do not know (or cannot know, or cannot prove) something, then it must be true (or false). A fallacy of omission. Includes attacking the evidence, whataboutism, and missing link. See also: a priori argument, appealing to closure, deliberate ignorance, simpleton's fallacy, argumentum ex silentio.

AKA: appeal to a lack of evidence, appeal to ignorance, argument from ignorance, argumentum ad ignorantiam

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 397_lf

argumentum ad misericordiam

"An emotional appeal to what should be a logical issue". "Opposite to this is...chosen emotion fallacy. Often, "a fallacy of encouragement to root of the underdog regardless of the issues at hand". "A corrupt argument from pathos." A fallacy of relevance. Closely related to angelism. "Opposite to this is...chosen emotion fallacy." Opposite of: appeal to rigor.

AKA: affective fallacy, appeal to emotion, appeal to pity, argument from pity, argumentum ad misericordiam, emotion over reflection, follow your heart, playing to emotions, romantic

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 398_lf

argumentum ad mysteriam

A fallacy in which some "facts, evidence, practices or arguments" gain weight due to a "quasi-hypnotic effect" that "can often persuade more strongly than any logical argument" derived from special sounds, postures, clothing, rituals, recitations, chants, ancient languages, or other effects introducing a sense of the unknown. Example: long ago and far away. See also: esoteric knowledge. An obverse: standard version fallacy.

AKA: argument from mystery, argumentum ad mysteriam, mystagogy

Ref: [3]

ID: 060_lf

argumentum ad odium

See also: argumentum ad personam, ad hominem.

Ref: [15]

ID: 382_lf

argumentum ad personam

Often, synonymous with argumentum ad hominem (arguing against a person holding a claim instead of arguing against the claim itself).Sometimes, "appealing to the personal interests of someone in order persuade someone to accept an argumentative claim" ("rather than directing an argument towards the issue at hand").See also: ad hominem argument, argumentum ad hominem, argument toward the man, attacking the person, poisoning the well.

Ref: [8], [9], [11], [15]

ID: 914_lf

argumentum ad populum

A fallacy claiming that something is true because it is believed by most people (or by "everyone," "the people," "the majority" or "someone in power who has widespread backing"). A fallacy of relevance. Sub-approaches can include bandwagon ("everyone's doing it"); patriotic ("it is patriotic"); snob "the best people are doing it"; and covering oneself with the cross ("it's Christian"). Can include: lying with statistics. A modern form is: information cascade.

AKA: argument from common sense, argument to the people, argumentum ad populum, appeal to popular opinion, bandwagon, bandwagon fallacy

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 003_lf

argumentum ad traditionem

A fallacy of holding a position as correct or a thing (scenario or deed) as good because it has always been that way or was that way long ago (and might still "serve one particular group very well"). A fallacy of relevance. A "corrupted argument from ethos" (from the past). Often related in time to the audience's young years, but not prior. Opposite of: appeal to novelty, bad old days, early adopter's fallacy, pro-innovation bias, recency bias.

AKA: appeal to tradition, argumentum ad traditionem, argumentum ad antiquitatem, back in those good times, conservative bias, good old days

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 399_lf

argumentum ad verecundium

A fallacy of not "evaluating the...argument on its own merits" and instead simply accepting the conclusion of an individual who may be an expert in a field but whose expertise is unrelated to the argument. A specific form of appeal to improper authority. A subcategory is appeal to biased authority. A fallacy of relevance.

AKA: argument from modesty, appeal to authority, appeal to improper authority, argumentum ad verecundium, argument from that which is improper

Ref: [1], [2]

ID: 400_lf

argumentum ex silentio

A fallacy in which it is claimed that, just because the currently available knowledge or evidence cannot prove anything about a claim, therefore this in itself proves that status of the claim as true or false (whereas, really, additional evidence or facts could be sought).

AKA: argument from silence

Ref: [3]

ID: 061_lf

assertiveness

A fallacy of obtaining a result not through argument but through the audience's willingness to give in so that the opposition will simply be satisfied, quieter, or no longer a nuisance. Common in public agencies, education, and retail. Sometimes promoted as a practical, nonviolent way for groups to promote change. See also: bribery.

AKA: appeasement, assertiveness, I know my rights, squeaky wheel gets the grease

Ref: [3]

ID: 401_lf

association fallacy

A cognitive bias and formal logical fallacy in which it is asserted that "properties of one thing must also be properties of another thing, if both things belong to the same group". A social bias. Includes: authority bias, cheerleader effect, halo effect.

Ref: [6]

ID: 108_cb_lf

assumed similarity bias

A cognitive bias in which one "assumes that others have more traits in common with them than those others actually do". A social bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 109_cb

attacking the evidence

Incorrectly claiming that "some or all of the key evidence is missing, incomplete, or faked"; or, asking "what about" some false assertion about the veracity or completeness of the evidence or claim presented. See also: appeal to a lack of evidence, appeal to ignorance, argument from ignorance, argumentum ad ignorantiam.

AKA: attacking the evidence, missing link fallacy, whataboutery, whataboutism

Ref: [3]

ID: 054_lf

attacking the person

Arguing against the opposing party instead of the reasoning given by the opposing party. This might question the intelligence, credentials, or character of the opposition. A "corrupted negative argument from ethos". Subcategories include abusive and circumstantial types. A fallacy of relevance. The opposite of star power. An obverse is token endorsement. See also: guilt by association.

AKA: ad hominem argument, argumentum ad hominem, argument toward the man, attacking the person, personal attack, poisoning the well

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 402_lf

attention bias

A tendency for perception to be influenced by thought repetition. See also: anchoring bias, availability bias, availability heuristic, focalism.

A cognitive bias in which one has a greater chance of "recalling recent, nearby, or otherwise immediately available examples", and the assigning of "importance to those examples" over others. Also, "the natural tendency to give undue attention and importance to information that is immediately available at hand, particularly the first or last information received". A fallacy of logos. A memory bias. Related: hyperbole, magnification, catastrophizing. See also: anchoring bias, attention bias, attentional bias, focalism.

AKA: availability bias, availability heuristic

Ref: [3], [6]

ID: 114_cb

availability cascade

A cognitive bias consisting of "a self-reinforcing process in which a collective belief gains more and more plausibility through its increasing repetition in public discourse". A conformity bias. A social bias. See also: availability heuristic.

Ref: [6]

ID: 115_cb

availability heuristic

A cognitive bias in which one has a greater chance of "recalling recent, nearby, or otherwise immediately available examples", and the assigning of "importance to those examples" over others. Also, "the natural tendency to give undue attention and importance to information that is immediately available at hand, particularly the first or last information received". A fallacy of logos. A memory bias. Related: hyperbole, magnification, catastrophizing. See also: anchoring bias, attention bias, attentional bias, focalism.

AKA: availability bias, availability heuristic

Ref: [3], [6]

ID: 116_cb

Baader–Meinhof phenomenon

A cognitive bias in which "once something has been noticed, then every instance of that thing is noticed, leading to the belief it has a high frequency of occurrence".

AKA: Baader–Meinhof phenomenon, frequency illusion

Ref: [6]

ID: 117_cb

back in those good times

A fallacy of holding a position as correct or a thing (scenario or deed) as good because it has always been that way or was that way long ago (and might still "serve one particular group very well"). A fallacy of relevance. A "corrupted argument from ethos" (from the past). Often related in time to the audience's young years, but not prior. Opposite of: appeal to novelty, bad old days, early adopter's fallacy, pro-innovation bias, recency bias.

AKA: appeal to tradition, argumentum ad traditionem, argumentum ad antiquitatem, back in those good times, conservative bias, good old days

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 404_lf

backfire effect

A cognitive bias in which one strengthens a prior (e.g., current) belief when coming across evidence to the contrary. (The "disconfirming evidence" has the opposite of its logical effect on the belief-holder.) A form of confirmation bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 118_cb

bad old days

A fallacy that a view or other thing must be correct or better because it is new or recent.

AKA: appeal to novelty, bad old days, early adopter's fallacy, pro-innovation bias, recency bias

Ref:

ID: 405_lf

bad-boy talk

A form of "frank, unguarded or uninhibited offensive expression". A fallacy that holds that some words are excempt from criticism because they are simply the true expression of some perspective having merit due to their representing the uncensored expression of true feelings. See also: venting. See also: affective fallacy. Opposite to this are political correctness and scripted message.

AKA: alpha-male talk, locker-room talk

Ref: [3]

ID: 504_lf

bandwagon

A fallacy claiming that something is true because it is believed by most people (or by "everyone," "the people," "the majority" or "someone in power who has widespread backing"). A fallacy of relevance. Sub-approaches can include bandwagon ("everyone's doing it"); patriotic ("it is patriotic"); snob "the best people are doing it"; and covering oneself with the cross ("it's Christian"). Can include: lying with statistics. A modern form is: information cascade.

AKA: argument from common sense, argument to the people, argumentum ad populum, appeal to popular opinion, bandwagon, bandwagon fallacy

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 706_lf

A fallacy holding that "an extraordinary degree of clarity, sanity, or textual liveliness can be reached by...eliminating all passive verb forms and all forms of the verb 'to be' from English-language writing." A "cultish linguistic theory". An obverse of: passive voice fallacy.

Ref: [3]

ID: 505_lf

begging the question

A fallacy in which the same proposition appears as a premise and as a conclusion (sometimes worded in two statements appearing differently enough to make this not very obvious); for example, "A, therefore B." and also "B, therefore A". Sometimes, begging the question and circular reasoning are used interchangeably and sometimes with a difference--begging the question or petitio principii more specifically assumes as evidence the conclusion they are trying to prove.) A fallacy of logos. A component fallacy. See also: complex question, big lie technique.

AKA: begging the question, catch 22, circular reasoning, circulus in probando, petitio principii, vicious circle

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 010_lf

belief bias

An "effect where someone's evaluation of the logical strength of an argument is biased by the believability of the conclusion". Categorized as a truth judgement bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 122_cb

Ben Franklin effect

An bias in which "a person who has performed a favor for someone is more likely to do another favor for that person than they would be if they had received a favor from that person". Bias category: cognitive dissonance.

Ref: [6]

ID: 123_cb

Berkson's paradox

A "tendency to misinterpret statistical experiments involving conditional probabilities". Categorized as a cognitive bias and a logical fallacy.

Ref: [6]

ID: 124_cb_lf

better safe than sorry

A fallacy of pessimism with reasoning based on a far-fetched, unlikely, or even entirely imaginary worst-case scenario isntead of being based on reality.

AKA: an abundance of caution, better safe than sorry, better to prevent than to lament, just in case, we can't afford to take chances, worst-case fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 709_lf

better the devil you know than the devil you don't

The fallacy that just because something is the current state that is therefore the preferred state. Opposite of: nihilism.

AKA: acquiescence, better the devil you know than the devil you don't, deal with it, default bias, get used to it, if it ain't broke don't fix it, it is what it is, let it be let it be, making one's peace with the situation, normalization of evil, this is the best of all possible worlds, whatever is is right

Ref: [3]

ID: 710_lf

better to prevent than to lament

A fallacy of pessimism with reasoning based on a far-fetched, unlikely, or even entirely imaginary worst-case scenario isntead of being based on reality.

AKA: an abundance of caution, better safe than sorry, better to prevent than to lament, just in case, we can't afford to take chances, worst-case fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 711_lf

better-than-average effect

A "tendency to overestimate one's desirable qualities, and underestimate undesirable qualities, relative to other people". A form of egocentric bias.

AKA: better-than-average effect, illusory superiority, Lake Wobegon effect, superiority bias

Ref: [6]

ID: 125_cb

bias blind spot

A "tendency to see oneself as less biased than other people, or to be able to identify more cognitive biases in others than in oneself." A form of egocentric bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 126_cb

bifurcation

A conclusion is reached based on there only being two possible options, when really the possibilities are not so limited. A component fallacy.

AKA: all or nothing thinking, black and white fallacy, black/white fallacy, either or fallacy, either/or reasoning, excluded middle, false binary, false dichotomy, false dilemma

Ref:

ID: 407_lf

big brain little brain

A fallacy in which a person in a leadership or authority position (a work boss, military commander, or some sort of religious, cult, or group leader) tells people to think not with their little brains (the brain in their head) but instead with their big brain (the leader's brain). An "extreme example of the blind loyalty fallacy". Sometimes expressed positively in that the leader takes (moral) responsibilty for decisions. The opposite is: plausible deniability. See also: just do it, gaslighting.

AKA: big brain little brain, führerprinzip, mad leader disease

Ref: [3]

ID: 063_lf

big but fallacy

A fallacy of stating "a generally-accepted principle and then directly negating it with a 'but'. Often detailed as a special case "supposedly exempt from the usual rules of law, logic, morality, ethics or even credibility". Closely related to: contradictory premises. A component fallacy.

AKA: big but fallacy, special pleading

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 506_lf

big lie technique

A fallacy of "repeating a lie, fallacy, slogan, talking-point, nonsense-statement or deceptive half-truth over and over in different forms (particularly in the media) until it becomes part of daily discourse and people accept it without further proof or evidence". Notably, "the bolder and more outlandish the big lie becomes the more credible it seems". See also: alphabet soup, alternative truth; bandwagon fallacy, propaganda, straw man.

AKA: big lie technique, bold faced lie, staying on message

Ref: [3]

ID: 065_lf

biologizing

A fallacy that just because something is natural, therefore "it has to be good, healthy, and beneficial". A "contemporary romantic fallacy of ethos". See also: argument from natural law.

AKA: appeal to nature, biologizing, green fallacy

Ref:

ID: 408_lf

bizarreness effect

A bias in which "bizarre material is better remembered than common material". A form of memory bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 127_cb

black and white fallacy

A conclusion is reached based on there only being two possible options, when really the possibilities are not so limited. A component fallacy.

AKA: all or nothing thinking, bifurcation, black/white fallacy, either or fallacy, either/or reasoning, excluded middle, false binary, false dichotomy, false dilemma

Ref:

ID: 409_lf

black/white fallacy

A conclusion is reached based on there only being two possible options, when really the possibilities are not so limited. A component fallacy.

AKA: all or nothing thinking, bifurcation, black and white fallacy, either or fallacy, either/or reasoning, excluded middle, false binary, false dichotomy, false dilemma

Ref:

ID: 410_lf

blamecasting

A fallacy in which there is always someone else to blame than oneself when anything goes wrong. For scapegoating, the blamed entity is typically "other" or marginalized in some way already.

AKA: blamecasting, scapegoating

Ref: [3]

ID: 713_lf

ID: 129_cb

childhood amnesia

The tendency to retain few memories from before the age of four. A memory bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 130_cb

choice-support bias

A fallacy and bias in which "after one has taken a given decision, commitment or course of action, one automatically tends to defend that decision and to irrationally dismiss opposing options even when one's decision later on proves to be shaky or wrong". A "fallacy of ethos (one's own)". See also argument from inertia, confirmation bias.

AKA: choice-support bias, choice-supportive bias, defensiveness, myside bias

Ref: [3], [6]

ID: 416_cb_lf

choice-supportive bias

A fallacy in which "after one has taken a given decision, commitment or course of action, one automatically tends to defend that decision and to irrationally dismiss opposing options even when one's decision later on proves to be shaky or wrong". A "fallacy of ethos (one's own)". See also argument from inertia, confirmation bias.

AKA: choice-support bias, choice-supportive bias, defensiveness, myside bias

Ref: [3], [6]

ID: 131_cb

chosen emotion fallacy

A fallacy in which "one falsely claims complete, or at least reliable prior voluntary control over one's own autonomic, gut level affective reactions". Related to but distinct from: angelism. Opposite to: affective fallacy, appeal to emotion, appeal to pity, argument from pity, argumentum ad misericordiam, emotion over reflection, follow your heart, playing to emotions, romantic fallacy. See also: mortification.

Ref: [3]

ID: 044_lf

chronological snobbery

A tendency to consider something (like an idea or argument) from an earlier time as less valid than newer concept on the (not necessarliy true) basis that people in the past were less intelligent. A from of appeal to novelty.

Ref: [6], [18]

ID: 132_cb_lf

circular reasoning

A fallacy in which the same proposition appears as a premise and as a conclusion (sometimes worded in two statements appearing differently enough to make this not very obvious); for example, "A, therefore B." and also "B, therefore A". Sometimes, begging the question and circular reasoning are used interchangeably and sometimes with a difference--begging the question or petitio principii more specifically assumes as evidence the conclusion they are trying to prove.) A fallacy of logos. A component fallacy. See also: complex question, big lie technique.

AKA: begging the question, catch 22, circular reasoning, circulus in probando, petitio principii, vicious circle

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 011_lf

circulus in probando

A fallacy in which the same proposition appears as a premise and as a conclusion (sometimes worded in two statements appearing differently enough to make this not very obvious); for example, "A, therefore B." and also "B, therefore A". Sometimes, begging the question and circular reasoning are used interchangeably and sometimes with a difference--begging the question or petitio principii more specifically assumes as evidence the conclusion they are trying to prove.) A fallacy of logos. A component fallacy. See also: complex question, big lie technique.

AKA: begging the question, catch 22, circular reasoning, circulus in probando, petitio principii, vicious circle

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 417_lf

closed-mindedness

The action of "choosing not to listen", "turning off any information, evidence or arguments that challenge one's beliefs, ideology, standpoint, or peace of mind", perhaps saying "Don't try to confuse me with the facts; my mind is made up". See also: confirmation bias, obscurantism, obscurationism, positive thinking fallacy, simpleton's fallacy, third person effect, they're all crooks, trust your gut, willful ignorance.

AKA: closed-mindedness, deliberate ignorance, hear no evil see no evil speak no evil, I don't want to hear it, motivated ignorance, three monkeys' fallacy, tuning out

Ref: [3]

ID: 418_lf

clustering illusion

A mistaken conclusion that one event must have been caused by a specific earlier event. Example of: correlation implies causation, cum hoc ergo propter hoc, coincidental correlation, false cause, false cause and effect, non causa pro causa, not the cause for the cause.

AKA: after this therefore because of this, clustering illusion, post hoc argument, post hoc propter hoc, post hoc ergo propter hoc, too much of a coincidence

Ref: [3], [6]

ID: 133_cb_lf

cognitive dissonance

Theoretically, bias results when "people continually reduce their" "mental disturbance...when...beliefs and actions are inconsistent and contradictory..." "in order to align their cognitions (perceptions of the world) with their actions". The concept is said to be comprised of 1) the bias of feeling one does not have baises, 2) the bias in which one feels better, smarter, or more moral than average, and 3) confirmation bias.

Ref: [6], [17]

ID: 134_cb

coincidental correlation

Claiming or establishing "a cause/effect relationship that does not exist". A component fallacy. Examples include: correlation implies causation, cum hoc ergo propter hoc, non causa pro causa, not the cause for the cause, after this therefore because of this, post hoc argument, post hoc propter hoc, post hoc ergo propter hoc.

AKA: coincidental correlation, false cause, false cause and effect

Ref: [1], [2], [4]

ID: 419_lf

common source bias

A tendency "to combine or compare research studies from the same source, or from sources that use the same methodologies or data".

Ref: [6]

ID: 135_cb

compadrismo

Automatically regarding a claim or action as "true, correct, and above challenge" because "one is related to, knows and likes, or is on the same team or side, or belongs to the same religion, party, club or fraternity as the individual involved". A "corrupt argument from ethos". Reverse of: ad hominem. See also: identity fallacy.

AKA: compadrismo

Ref: [3]

ID: 420_lf

compartmentalization

A position that "there exists one truth in one given environment (e.g., in science, work or school) and simultaneously a different, formally contradictory but equally true truth in a different epistemic system, context, environment, intended audience or discourse community (e.g., in one's religion or at home)". A "fallacy of logos and ethos". See also: alternative truth, disciplinary blinders.

AKA: compartmentalization, epistemically closed systems, two truths

Ref: [3]

ID: 724_lf

compassion fade

A tendency to "behave more compassionately towards a small number of identifiable victims than to a large number of anonymous ones". A bias of extension neglect.

Ref: [6]

ID: 136_cb

compassion fatigue

The fallacy in which legitimate arguments are ignored due claimed lack of caring.

AKA: apathetic fallacy, burnout, cynicism

Ref: [3]

ID: 725_lf

complex question

The phrasing of a question or statement to imply that an "unproven statement is true without evidence or discussion". A "fallacy of omission". Often overlaps with: begging the question. A counterpart of: either/or reasoning.

AKA: complex question, loaded question

Ref: [1]

ID: 032_lf

complexity

An arbitrary declaration tht "today's world is so complex that there is no truth" or that if truth does exist it is "unknowable excerpt perhaps by God". Opposite of: executive summary, keep it short and simple, keep it simple stupid, KISS principle, monocausal fallacy, plain truth fallacy, salience bias, simple truth fallacy.

AKA: complexity, ineffability, post-truth, truthiness

Ref: [3]

ID: 515_lf

composition

A fallacy of ambiguity. The opposite of divison.

Ref: [1]

ID: 025_lf

con artist's fallacy

Fallacy saying that those who are less capable therefore are less deserving and therefore can be justifiably victimized due to how nature is.

AKA: con artist's fallacy, dacoit's fallacy, profiteering, shearing the sheeple, vulture capitalism, wealth is the disease and I am the cure

Ref: [3]

ID: 421_lf

confirmation bias

The cognitive bias and logical fallacy of a tendency to "search for, interpret, focus on and remember information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions". Includes: backfire effect, congruence effect, experimenter's bias, expectation bias, observer-expectancy effect, selective perception, Semmelweis reflex. See also: defensiveness, half truth.

AKA: homophily

Ref: [3], [6]

ID: 071_cb_lf

conformity

A tendency to fit in regardless of logic. Forms of conformity bias include: availabilty cascade, bandwagon effect, courtesy bias, groupthink, groupshift, social desirabiltyy bias, truth bias/

Ref: [6]

ID: 138_cb

congruence bias

A tendency "to test hypotheses exclusively through direct testing, instead of testing possible alternative hypotheses".

Ref: [6]

ID: 139_cb

conjunction fallacy

A tendency to "assume that specific conditions are more probable than a more general version of those same conditions".

Ref: [6]

ID: 140_cb

conservatism bias

As an anchoring cognitive bias, the tendency "to insufficiently revise one's belief when presented with new evidence". As a memory cognitive bias, the tendency "to remember high values and high likelihoods/probabilities/frequencies as lower than they actually were and low ones as higher than they actually were" ("memories are not extreme enough") [in this sense also known as regressive bias]. See also, as a logical fallacy: conservative bias.

AKA: conservatism bias, regressive bias

Ref: [6]

ID: 141_cb

conservative bias

A fallacy of holding a position as correct or a thing (scenario or deed) as good because it has always been that way or was that way long ago (and might still "serve one particular group very well"). A fallacy of relevance. A "corrupted argument from ethos" (from the past). Often related in time to the audience's young years, but not prior. Opposite of: appeal to novelty, bad old days, early adopter's fallacy, pro-innovation bias, recency bias.

AKA: appeal to tradition, argumentum ad traditionem, argumentum ad antiquitatem, back in those good times, conservative bias, good old days

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 422_lf

conspiracy theories

A fallacy of holding a claim as true just because that position "is supposedly standing up heroically to the dominant orthodoxy, the current standard model, conventional wisdom or political correctness, or whatever may be the bandwagon of the moment". A corrupt argument from ethos. The opposite of: bandwagon fallacy.

The rejection of reasoned dialogue along with the offer of "either instant, unconditional compliance...or defeat as the only two options for settling even minor differences". A from of: appeal to force, argument from force, argument from strength, argument from the club (stick), argumentum ad baculum, bullying, fascism, hard power, might-makes-right, muscular leadership, non-negotiable demands, power-play, resolution by force of arms, shock and awe. See also: pout.

The tendency to "give an opinion that is more socially correct than one's true opinion, so as to avoid offending anyone". An example of: conformity.

Ref: [6]

ID: 146_cb

cynicism

dacoits fallacy

Fallacy saying that those who are less capable therefore are less deserving and therefore can be justifiably victimized due to how nature is.

AKA: con artist's fallacy, dacoit's fallacy, profiteering, shearing the sheeple, vulture capitalism, wealth is the disease and I am the cure

Ref: [3]

ID: 427_lf

deal with it

The fallacy that just because something is the current state that is therefore the preferred state. Opposite of: nihilism.

AKA: acquiescence, better the devil you know than the devil you don't, deal with it, default bias, get used to it, if it ain't broke don't fix it, it is what it is, let it be let it be, making one's peace with the situation, normalization of evil, this is the best of all possible worlds, whatever is is right

Ref: [3]

ID: 733_lf

declinism

A "predisposition to view the past favorably...and future negatively". See also: rosy retrospection.

Ref: [6]

ID: 152_cb

dehumanization

As a cognitive bias: a phenomenon of "not attributing feelings or thoughts to another person"; a form of: objectification. As a logical fallacy: a "faulty analogy where opponents are dismissed as mere cockroaches, lice, apes, monkeys, rats, weasels or bloodsucking parasites who have no right to speak or to live at all, and probably should be squashed like bugs"; opposite of: Polyanna principle, projection bias, singing kumbay, they're just like us; see also: identity fallacy, name calling, olfactory rhetoric.

AKA: dehumanised perception, dehumanization

Ref: [3], [6]

ID: 517_cb_lf

deliberate ignorance

The action of "choosing not to listen", "turning off any information, evidence or arguments that challenge one's beliefs, ideology, standpoint, or peace of mind", perhaps saying "Don't try to confuse me with the facts; my mind is made up". See also: confirmation bias, obscurantism, obscurationism, positive thinking fallacy, simpleton's fallacy, third person effect, they're all crooks, trust your gut, willful ignorance.

AKA: closed-mindedness, deliberate ignorance, hear no evil see no evil speak no evil, I don't want to hear it, motivated ignorance, three monkeys' fallacy, tuning out

Ref: [3]

ID: 075_lf

demagogy

A fallacy of "deliberately lying to the people to gain their support or motivate" some action desired by the promoter of the lie. Related: self deception, whistling by the graveyard. See also: argument to the people, argumentum ad populum, dog-whistle politics, othering.

AKA: campaign promises, demagogy, motivational truth

Ref: [3]

ID: 518_lf

denomination effect

A tendency "to spend more money when it is denominated in small amounts (e.g., coins) rather than large amounts (e.g., bills)". An example of: framing effect.

Ref: [6]

ID: 156_cb

A rejection of "the validity of analogy and of inductive reasoning altogether" on the basis that " any given person, place, thing or idea under consideration is...different and unique, in a class unto itself". Literally, "sui generis" means "of its own kind". Opposite of: false analogy.

AKA: difference, sui generis fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 737_lf

diminished responsibility

Taking a specific judicial concept, that people with impaired judgement can receive less criminal punishment, and applying it to other general situations, thus arguing that one's impairment somehow ought to lessen the impact of their action or inaction in that scenario. Based on "the confusion of consequences with punishment". See also: panic, venting.

Ref: [3]

ID: 521_lf

A tendency "sell an asset that has accumulated in value and resist selling an asset that has declined in value".

Ref: [6]

ID: 157_cb

disproportionate response

A fallacy of "declaring an 'emergency' and promising to disregard justice and due process and devote unlimited resources (and occasionally, unlimited cruelty) to stamp out a limited, insignificant or even nonexistent problem". A "corrupt and cynical argument from pathos". "Almost always politically driven." A "sinister" form of dog whistle politics. An example of: we have to do something (placebo effect, political theater, security theater, we have to send a message).

AKA: broken windows policing, disproportionate response, even one is too many, judenrein, exemplary punishment, zero-risk bias, zero tolerance

Ref: [3]

ID: 738_lf

distinction bias

A tendency to "view two options as more dissimilar when evaluating them simultaneously than when evaluating them separately". An example of: framing effect.

Ref: [6]

ID: 158_cb

distraction

An attempt to change the subject or redirect argument from the issue at hand. A form of: arguing beside the point, ignorantio elenchi, ignoring the issue, irrelevant conclusion. Examples include: appeal to emotion, irrelevant conclusion, personal attack, straw man.

AKA: distraction, red herring

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 739_lf

division

A fallacy of ambiguity. The opposite of composition.

Ref: [1], [2]

ID: 026_lf

dog-whistle politics

The use of a brief and popular phrase or slogan to reflexively send an audience into a frenzy, such that "any reasoned attempt to more clearly identify, deconstruct, or challenge" the opponent's usage of the inciting phrase results in confusion, irrationality, wildness, or anger. This means that "instead of addressing, refuting, or...listening to each other's arguments", an unreasoned exchange occurs. A form of: reductionism, sloganeering.

Ref: [3]

ID: 522_lf

dogmatism

dogmatism, taboo

AKA: dogmatism, taboo

Ref: [3]

ID: 740_lf

domain neglect bias

A trendency "neglect relevant domain knowledge while solving interdisciplinary problems". An example of: framing effect.

Ref: [6]

ID: 159_cb

domino theory

A fallacy holding that "one thing inevitably leads to another" when this is not necessarily the case. A non sequitur. A component fallacy.

AKA: camel's nose fallacy, domino theory, slippery slope

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 741_lf

drama queen or drama king fallacy

A fallacy in which, ignoring facts, emotion is evoked alone. A fallacy "of pure argument from pathos". The opposite is: apathetic fallacy, burnout, compassion fatigue, cynicism. An obverse is: refinement, real feelings. See also: othering.

AKA: bleeding heart, drama queen or drama king fallacy, pathetic fallacy, playing on emotion, sob story

Ref: [3]

ID: 743_lf

draw your own conclusion fallacy

A fallacy in which carefully selected (and perhaps shocking) facts are presented to an audience that is then asked immediately to come to their own conclusions, while people are more convinced when drawing a conclusion themselves rather than being presented with both an argument and the proposed conclusion together, and while the appropriate question would be "what has been allegedly proven and how?". A "fallacy of logos". See also: leading the witness fallacy.

AKA: draw your own conclusion fallacy, let the facts speak for themselves, non-argument argument

Ref: [3]

ID: 078_lf

dread aversion

The tendency for dread to "double the emotional impact of savouring".

Ref: [6]

ID: 160_cb

Dunning-Kruger effect

A cognitive bias and logical fallacy in which "people of limited skills or knowledge mistakenly believe their abilities are greater than they actually are". Clarifying notes: "Dunning and Kruger themselves never claimed to show that the unskilled think they're better than the skilled." "Also, there is a positive correlation between actual performance and perceived performance."

Ref: [3]

ID: 079_cb_lf

duration neglect

The "neglect of the duration of an episode in determining its value".

Ref: [6]

ID: 162_cb

dynamic inconsistency

A scenario in which "a decision-maker's preferences change over time in such a way that a preference can become inconsistent at another point in time". See also: current moment bias, hyperbiolic discounting, present bias

AKA: dynamic inconsistency, time inconsistency

Ref: [6], [21]

ID: 163_cb

E for effort

The idea that something must be good or true because someone has put a lot of good-faith effort or sacrifice into it. A "fallacy6 of ethos". An example is: waving the bloody shirt, the blood of the martyrs fallacy. See also: argument from inertia, cost bias, solider's honor fallacy.

AKA: E for effort, noble effort, I'm trying my best, lost cause

Ref: [3]

ID: 080_lf

early adopter's fallacy

A fallacy that a view or other thing must be correct or better because it is new or recent.

AKA: appeal to novelty, bad old days, early adopter's fallacy, pro-innovation bias, recency bias

Ref:

ID: 431_lf

effort justification

A tendency to "attribute greater value to an outcome if they had to put effort into achieving it".

Ref: [6]

ID: 164_cb

ego quoque

The attempted justification (or minimization of criticism) of some position or action on the basis that oneself or one's own group has also done the same thing. See also: and you too, appeal to hypocrisy, tu quoque, two wrongs make a right, you also, you do it too.

AKA: ego quoque, I do it too, nos quoque, we do it too

Ref: [3]

ID: 448_lf

egocentric bias

A "tendency to rely too heavily on one's own perspective and/or have a different perception of oneself relative to others".

Ref: [6]

ID: 165_cb

either or fallacy

A conclusion is reached based on there only being two possible options, when really the possibilities are not so limited. A component fallacy.

AKA: all or nothing thinking, bifurcation, black and white fallacy, black/white fallacy, either/or reasoning, excluded middle, false binary, false dichotomy, false dilemma

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 018_lf

either/or reasoning

A conclusion is reached based on there only being two possible options, when really the possibilities are not so limited. A component fallacy.

AKA: all or nothing thinking, bifurcation, black and white fallacy, black/white fallacy, either/or reasoning, excluded middle, false binary, false dichotomy, false dilemma

Ref: [3]

ID: 524_lf

eminence-based practice

A fallacy in which arguments "are granted fame and validity or condemed to obscurity soley by whoever may be the reigning stars or premier journals of the profession or discpline at the moment". A "corrupt argument from ethos". Includes: faulty use of quotes.

AKA: eminence-based practice, falacia ad verecundiam, faulty use of authority, questionable authority, star power, testimonial

Ref: [3]

ID: 744_lf

emotion over reflection

A fallacy of treating a thing such that it is and can only ever be that which it is said to be at its core. A "fallacy of logos". Opposite of: relativizing. See also: red herring, Appeal to Nature.

Ref: [3]

ID: 083_lf

etymological fallacy

A fallacy of "drawing false conclusions from the...linguistic origins of a current word" or the "alleged meanings or associations of that word in another langauge". "A fallacy of logos.""

AKA: etymological fallacy, underlying meaning

Ref: [3]

ID: 084_lf

euphoric recall

A tendency to "remember past experiences in a positive light, while overlooking negative experiences associated with that even". A type of: memory bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 169_cb

even one is too many

A fallacy of "declaring an 'emergency' and promising to disregard justice and due process and devote unlimited resources (and occasionally, unlimited cruelty) to stamp out a limited, insignificant or even nonexistent problem". A "corrupt and cynical argument from pathos". "Almost always politically driven." A "sinister" form of dog whistle politics. An example of: we have to do something (placebo effect, political theater, security theater, we have to send a message).

AKA: broken windows policing, disproportionate response, even one is too many, judenrein, exemplary punishment, zero-risk bias, zero tolerance

Ref: [3]

ID: 747_lf

evening up the score

An argument for inflicting punishment on a false premise of life being a sporting event based on keeping track of scores. See also: hey sports fans, moving the baall down the field, scoring, sports world fallacy

AKA: evening up the score, getting even

Ref: [3]

ID: 527_lf

every revolution ends up eating its own young

An argument that, since it is impossible to know everything or to forsee anything, then unknown unknowns will always blindside and overwhelm, so therefore one must be prepared to maintain strength, withstand, and to recover as a main means of survival.

A fallacy of "declaring an 'emergency' and promising to disregard justice and due process and devote unlimited resources (and occasionally, unlimited cruelty) to stamp out a limited, insignificant or even nonexistent problem". A "corrupt and cynical argument from pathos". "Almost always politically driven." A "sinister" form of dog whistle politics. An example of: we have to do something (placebo effect, political theater, security theater, we have to send a message).

AKA: broken windows policing, disproportionate response, even one is too many, judenrein, exemplary punishment, zero-risk bias, zero tolerance

Ref: [3]

ID: 750_lf

expect a miracle

An argument that when it really matters, one just has to pray or do the right rituals and then a miracle will occur. A "fallacy... of logos". See also: appeal to heaven, Job's comforter fallacy, positive thinking.

AKA: expect a miracle, magical thinking, sin of presumption

Ref: [3]

ID: 751_lf

expectation bias

A tendency "for experimenters to believe, certify, and publish data that agree with their expectations for the outcome of an experiment, and to disbelieve, discard, or downgrade the corresponding weightings for data that appear to conflict with those expectations". An example of: confirmation bias.

AKA: expectation bias, experimenter's bias

Ref: [6]

ID: 171_cb

experimenter's bias

A tendency "for experimenters to believe, certify, and publish data that agree with their expectations for the outcome of an experiment, and to disbelieve, discard, or downgrade the corresponding weightings for data that appear to conflict with those expectations". An example of: confirmation bias.

AKA: expectation bias, experimenter's bias

Ref: [6]

ID: 172_cb

extension neglect

A senario in which "the quantity of the sample size is not sufficiently taken into consideration when assessing the outcome, relevance or judgement". Examples include: base rate fallacy, compassion fade, conjunction fallacy, duration neglect, hyperbolic discounting, insensitivity to sample size, less-is-better effect, neglect of probability, scope insensitivity, scope neglect, zero-risk bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 173_cb

extrinsic incentives bias

A scenario in which "people view others as having (situational) extrinsic motivations and (dispositional) intrinsic motivations for oneself". An exception to: fundamental attribution error. A form of: attribution bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 174_cb

F-bomb

An attempt to "defend or strengthen one's argument with gratuitous, unrelated sexual, obscene, vulgar, crude or profane language when such language does nothing to make an argument stronger, other than perhaps to create a sense of identity with certain...audiences". A fallacy of pathos. Related to: salacious fallacy. See also: red herring.

AKA: cursing, F-bomb, obscenity, profanity

Ref: [3]

ID: 086_lf

fable

Wrapping a message in a "heartwarming or horrifying story or fable" is more persusasive than more formal or direct argument, even if the story is fictional.

AKA: fable, narrative fallacy, poster child

Ref: [3]

ID: 752_lf

fading affect bias

A tendency in which "the emotion associated with unpleasant memories fades more quickly than the emotion associated with positive events".

Ref: [6]

ID: 175_cb

Opposite of Sui Generis Fallacy, Difference.

Ref: [3]

ID: 087_lf

false balance

Presenting an issue in such a way that makes it seem as though there are "two sides of equal weight or significance, when in fact a consensus or much stronger argument supports just one side".

AKA: false balance, false equivalence, teach the controversy, two-sides fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 631_lf

false binary

A conclusion is reached based on there only being two possible options, when really the possibilities are not so limited. A component fallacy.

AKA: all or nothing thinking, bifurcation, black and white fallacy, black/white fallacy, either or fallacy, either/or reasoning, excluded middle, false binary, false dilemma

Ref:

ID: 436_lf

false cause

Claiming or establishing "a cause/effect relationship that does not exist". A component fallacy. Examples include: correlation implies causation, cum hoc ergo propter hoc, non causa pro causa, not the cause for the cause, after this therefore because of this, post hoc argument, post hoc propter hoc, post hoc ergo propter hoc.

AKA: coincidental correlation, false cause, false cause and effect

Ref: [1], [2], [4]

ID: 013_lf

false cause and effect

Claiming or establishing "a cause/effect relationship that does not exist". A component fallacy. Examples include: correlation implies causation, cum hoc ergo propter hoc, non causa pro causa, not the cause for the cause, after this therefore because of this, post hoc argument, post hoc propter hoc, post hoc ergo propter hoc.

AKA: coincidental correlation, false cause, false cause and effect

Ref: [1], [2], [4]

ID: 320_lf

false consensus effect

A tendency to "overestimate the degree to which others agree with them".

Ref: [6]

ID: 176_cb

false dichotomy

A conclusion is reached based on there only being two possible options, when really the possibilities are not so limited. A component fallacy.

AKA: all or nothing thinking, bifurcation, black and white fallacy, black/white fallacy, either or fallacy, either/or reasoning, excluded middle, false binary, false dilemma

Ref:

ID: 437_lf

false dilemma

A conclusion is reached based on there only being two possible options, when really the possibilities are not so limited. A component fallacy.

AKA: all or nothing thinking, bifurcation, black and white fallacy, black/white fallacy, either or fallacy, either/or reasoning, excluded middle, false binary, false dilemma

Ref:

ID: 438_lf

false equivalence

Presenting an issue in such a way that makes it seem as though there are "two sides of equal weight or significance, when in fact a consensus or much stronger argument supports just one side".

AKA: false balance, false equivalence, teach the controversy, two-sides fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 036_lf

false memory

A scenarion in which "imagination is mistaken for a memory". A form of: misattribution of memory.

Ref: [6]

ID: 177_cb

false priors

A scenarion in which "initial beliefs and knowledge ... interfere with the unbiased evaluation of factual evidence and lead to incorrect conclusions". Examples include: agent detection bias, automation bias, gender bias, sexual overperception bias, stereotyping.

Ref: [6]

ID: 178_cb

false uniqueness bias

A tendency people have to "see their projects and themselves as more singular than they actually are". A form of: egocentric bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 179_cb

familiarity principle

A tendency to "express undue liking for things merely because of familiarity with them".

AKA: familiarity principle, mere exposure principle

Ref: [6]

ID: 180_cb

fascism

A fallacy in which a conclusion is reached due to force, threat of force, or threat of unpleasantness. A fallacy of relevance, since reason for conclusion is not relevant to the argument at hand.

AKA: appeal to force, argument from force, argument from strength, argument from the club (stick), argumentum ad baculum, bullying, fascism, hard power, might-makes-right, muscular leadership, non-negotiable demands, power-play, resolution by force of arms, shock and awe

Ref: [3]

ID: 758_lf

The inappropriate application "the norms and requirements of standardized manufacturing. quality control and rigid scheduling, or of military discipline to inherently diverse free human beings, their lives, education, behavior, clothing and appearance".

AKA: Fordism, keeping up standards, procrustean fallacy, standardization, uniformity

Ref: [3]

ID: 680_lf

Forer effect

A tendency "for individuals to give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored specifically for them, but are in fact vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people". A form of egocentric bias.

AKA: Barnum effect, Forer effect

Ref: [6]

ID: 181_cb

form function attribution bias

A tendnecy of people "to make systematic errors when interacting with a robot""based on its appearance (form)".

Ref: [6]

ID: 182_cb

A mistaken belief that people "should strive to return to" a "perfect time in history" that existed. A fallacy surrounding: capitalism.

Ref: [27]

ID: 874_lf

good old days

A fallacy of holding a position as correct or a thing (scenario or deed) as good because it has always been that way or was that way long ago (and might still "serve one particular group very well"). A fallacy of relevance. A "corrupted argument from ethos" (from the past). Often related in time to the audience's young years, but not prior. Opposite of: appeal to novelty, bad old days, early adopter's fallacy, pro-innovation bias, recency bias.

AKA: appeal to tradition, argumentum ad traditionem, argumentum ad antiquitatem, back in those good times, conservative bias, good old days

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 444_lf

good simpleton

A claim that uninformed perspectives are equally as valid as fully informed perspectives. A "fallacy of logos". See also: argument from ignorance, just plain folks, plain truth fallacy, third person effect.

AKA: good simpleton, simpleton's fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 764_lf

Google effect

A tendency to "forget information that can be found readily online by using Internet search engines". A memory bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 194_cb

Gott mit uns

A fallacy based on claiming to know God's mind and wishes, which cannot really be challenged. A "deluded argument from ethos". Opposite of: Job's comforter fallacy.

AKA: American exceptionalism, appeal to heaven, argumentum ad coelum, Deus vult, manifest destiny, special covenant

Ref: [3]

ID: 445_lf

greedflation fallacy

A mistaken belief that "corporate greed causes inflation". A fallacy surrounding: capitalism.

Ref: [27]

ID: 213_lf

green fallacy

A fallacy that just because something is natural, therefore "it has to be good, healthy, and beneficial". A "contemporary romantic fallacy of ethos". See also: argument from natural law.

AKA: appeal to nature, biologizing, green fallacy

Ref:

ID: 446_lf

grit

An argument that, since it is impossible to know everything or to forsee anything, then unknown unknowns will always blindside and overwhelm, so therefore one must be prepared to maintain strength, withstand, and to recover as a main means of survival.

AKA: every revolution ends up eating its own young, grit, law of unintended consequences, resilience doctrine

Ref: [3]

ID: 765_lf

hasty generalization

Literally, "a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter" means "from a qualified statement to a simple statement"; the shorter "dictum simpliciter" means "simple statement". A fallacy in which "a rule that applies only to an exceptional case is wrongly applied to all cases in general". Also, "mistaken use of inductive reasoning when there are too few samples to prove a point." A common example is the misleading statistic, a statistic seems compelling the way it is presented, but a fuller picture would show otherwise. A component fallacy. See also: ignoring qualifications, secundum quid, secundum quid et simpliciter, sweeping generalization.

AKA: a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter, converse accident, destroying the exception, dicto simpliciter, hasty generalization, jumping to conclusions, reverse accident

Ref: [1], [2], [31], [32]

ID: 012_lf

hear no evil see no evil speak no evil

The action of "choosing not to listen", "turning off any information, evidence or arguments that challenge one's beliefs, ideology, standpoint, or peace of mind", perhaps saying "Don't try to confuse me with the facts; my mind is made up". See also: confirmation bias, obscurantism, obscurationism, positive thinking fallacy, simpleton's fallacy, third person effect, they're all crooks, trust your gut, willful ignorance.

AKA: closed-mindedness, deliberate ignorance, hear no evil see no evil speak no evil, I don't want to hear it, motivated ignorance, three monkeys' fallacy, tuning out

Ref: [3]

ID: 768_lf

heart of darkness syndrome

A fallacy holding that "one may freely commit immoral, selfish, negative or evil acts at will without expecting any of the normal consequences or punishment" "just because nobody important is looking (or because one is on vacation, or away in college, or overseas)". A counterpart to: appeal to privacy, mind your own business, MYOB, none of yer beeswax, so what, you're not the boss of me

AKA: heart of darkness syndrome, I think we're alone now, nobody will ever know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

Ref: [3]

ID: 769_lf

hedonic recall bias

A tendency "for people who are satisfied with their wage to overestimate how much they earn, and vice versa, for people who are unsatisfied with their wage to underestimate it".

Ref: [6]

ID: 201_cb

hedonism

The seeking and valuing of "physical pleasure as a good in itself, simply for it own sake". Opposite of: live as though you're dying, mortification, no pain no gain, pleasure-hating.

Ref: [3]

ID: 535_lf

The cognitive bias and logical fallacy of a tendency to "search for, interpret, focus on and remember information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions". Includes: backfire effect, congruence effect, experimenter's bias, expectation bias, observer-expectancy effect, selective perception, Semmelweis reflex. See also: defensiveness, half truth.

AKA: confirmation bias, homophily

Ref: [3], [6]

ID: 770_lf

hostile attribution bias

A tendency to "interpret others' behaviors as having hostile intent, even when the behavior is ambiguous or benign". A form of: attribution bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 206_cb

hot hand

A tendency to believe that "a person who has experienced success with a random event has a greater chance of further success in additional attempts".

AKA: hot hand, hot-hand fallacy, hot hand phenomenon

Ref: [6]

ID: 208_cb

hot hand phenomenon

A tendency to believe that "a person who has experienced success with a random event has a greater chance of further success in additional attempts".

A tendency for "humorous items" to be "more easily remembered than non-humorous ones". A form of: memory bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 211_cb

A tendency in which "the speed with which people can match words depends on how closely they are associated".

Ref: [6]

ID: 223_cb

implicit bias

A pheneomenon of "underlying attitudes and stereotypes that people unconsciously attribute to another person or group of people that affect how they understand and engage with them".

AKA: implicit bias, unconscious bias

Ref: [6]

ID: 356_cb

An arbitrary declaration tht "today's world is so complex that there is no truth" or that if truth does exist it is "unknowable excerpt perhaps by God". Opposite of: executive summary, keep it short and simple, keep it simple stupid, KISS principle, monocausal fallacy, plain truth fallacy, salience bias, simple truth fallacy.

AKA: complexity, ineffability, post-truth, truthiness

Ref: [3]

ID: 541_lf

information bias

As a cognitive bias, a tendency "to seek information even when it cannot affect action". As a logical fallacy, an attempt to prove a claim by overwhelming an audience with "mountains of true but marginally-relevant documents, graphs, words, facts, numbers, information and statistics s that look extremely impressive but which the...audience cannot be expected to understand or evaluate properly." A "fallacy of logos". Opposite of: plain truth fallacy. See also: lying with statistics.

Ref: [3], [6]

ID: 227_cb_lf

A tendency "to give preferential treatment to others they perceive to be members of their own groups".

Ref: [6]

ID: 226_cb

inner sanctum

A fallacy holding that "there is some knowledge reserved only for the wise, the holy or the enlightened, (or those with proper security clearance), things that the masses cannot understand and do not deserve to know, at least not until they become wiser, more trusted or more spiritually advanced". A "fallacy from logos and ethos". A counterpart is: obscurantism, obscurationism, willful ignorance. See also: plain truth fallacy, argument from mystery, argumentum ad mysteriam, mystagogy.

AKA: esoteric wisdom, gnosticism, inner truth, inner sanctum, need to know

Ref: [3]

ID: 453_lf

inner truth

A fallacy holding that "there is some knowledge reserved only for the wise, the holy or the enlightened, (or those with proper security clearance), things that the masses cannot understand and do not deserve to know, at least not until they become wiser, more trusted or more spiritually advanced". A "fallacy from logos and ethos". A counterpart is: obscurantism, obscurationism, willful ignorance. See also: plain truth fallacy, argument from mystery, argumentum ad mysteriam, mystagogy.

AKA: esoteric wisdom, gnosticism, inner truth, inner sanctum, need to know

Ref: [3]

ID: 454_lf

insensitivity to sample size

A tendency "to under-expect variation in small samples".

Ref: [6]

ID: 228_cb

intentionality bias

A tendency to "judge human action to be intentional rather than accidental".

Ref: [6]

ID: 229_cb

intergroup bias

A tendency to favor members of a social group to which one blogs over people who are not members of that social group.

AKA: group-serving bias, intergroup bias, in-group bias, in-group favoritism, in-group-out-group bias, in-group preference

Ref: [6], [23]

ID: 161_cb

Literally, "a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter" means "from a qualified statement to a simple statement"; the shorter "dictum simpliciter" means "simple statement". A fallacy in which "a rule that applies only to an exceptional case is wrongly applied to all cases in general". Also, "mistaken use of inductive reasoning when there are too few samples to prove a point." A common example is the misleading statistic, a statistic seems compelling the way it is presented, but a fuller picture would show otherwise. A component fallacy. See also: ignoring qualifications, secundum quid, secundum quid et simpliciter, sweeping generalization.

AKA: a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter, converse accident, destroying the exception, dicto simpliciter, hasty generalization, jumping to conclusions, reverse accident

Ref: [1], [2], [31], [32]

ID: 456_lf

just a job

The false justification that something is okay because it is "just a job" "like any other" that "they get paid to do". See also: finish the job.

Ref: [3]

ID: 545_lf

just do it

An argumentum ad baculum (argument from force) that implies arriving at an outcome by setting aside morality.

AKA: accomplish the mission, by any means necessary, find a way, I don't care how you do it

Ref: [3]

ID: 546_lf

just in case

A fallacy of pessimism with reasoning based on a far-fetched, unlikely, or even entirely imaginary worst-case scenario isntead of being based on reality.

AKA: an abundance of caution, better safe than sorry, better to prevent than to lament, just in case, we can't afford to take chances, worst-case fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 780_lf

just plain folks

An argument that someone who speaks in simple terms and seems like a straight talker is necessarily worthy of being believed for that reason alone, especially in contrast with more sophisticated or fancier seeming speakers. A "corrupt...argument from ethos". See also: ad hominem fallacy, plain truth fallacy, simpleton's fallacy.

AKA: just plain folks, values

Ref: [3]

ID: 547_lf

A tendency in which "learning is greater when studying is spread out over time, as opposed to studying the same amount of time in a single session".

Ref: [6]

ID: 233_cb

Lake Wobegon effect

A "tendency to overestimate one's desirable qualities, and underestimate undesirable qualities, relative to other people". A form of egocentric bias.

AKA: better-than-average effect, illusory superiority, Lake Wobegon effect, superiority bias

Ref: [6]

ID: 234_cb

language control

The application of politically oriented language focused on not using particular terminology such as an opponents' own names for themselves (which, for instance, might make that subject more relatable and less of a dehumanized other). See also: name calling, passive voice fallacy, political correctness, scripted message.

Ref: [3]

ID: 548_lf

large-sample bias

A tendency for a model based on large samples of data to under-represent, or not represent, valid and important components that only appeared in a small portion of the sampled data.

Ref:

ID: 137_

letting off steam

A claim that someone ought to be "excempt from criticism" becuase they were just venting, even though venting implies expression of their actual position on some matter. Opposite of: political correctness, scripted message. See also: affective fallacy, alpha-male speech,bad-boy talk, locker-room talk.

AKA: letting off steam, loose lips, venting

Ref: [3]

ID: 789_lf

leveling and sharpening

A tendency toward "memory distortions introduced by the loss of details in a recollection over time" as well as "sharpening or selective recollection of certain details that take on exaggerated significance in relation to the details or aspects of the experience lost through leveling".

Ref: [6]

ID: 237_cb

levels-of-processing effect

A tendency in which "different methods of encoding information into memory have different levels of effectiveness".

Ref: [6]

ID: 238_cb

list-length effect

A tendency in which "a smaller percentage of items are remembered in a longer list, but as the length of the list increases, the absolute number of items remembered increases as well".

Ref: [6]

ID: 239_cb

live as though you're dying

An attempt to gain positive benefit from extreme exercise, the infliction of pain, intentional starvation, or similar practices while denying that discomfort and pain are definite signals warning against bodily damage. A "fallacy of logos". Opposite of: hedonism.

AKA: live as though you're dying, mortification, no pain no gain, pleasure-hating

Ref: [3]

ID: 551_lf

loaded question

The phrasing of a question or statement to imply that an "unproven statement is true without evidence or discussion". A "fallacy of omission". Often overlaps with: begging the question. A counterpart of: either/or reasoning.

AKA: complex question, loaded question

Ref: [1]

ID: 458_lf

lock em up and throw away the key

The idea that a problem ceases to exist for all practical purposes so long as it can be made to go away to somewhere that is out of sight, or censored, or ignored, perhaps with a focus on positive things instead.

A mistaken belief that "there is a fixed pie of wealth, and every winner creates a loser". Also, the idea that "there is a finite amount of work--a lump of labour--to be done within an economy which can be distributed to create more or fewer jobs". A fallacy surrounding: capitalism. See also: zero-sum bias.

AKA: fallacy of labour scarcity, fixed pie fallacy, lump of jobs fallacy, zero-sum fallacy

Ref: [27], [33]

ID: 918_lf

A fallacy based on claiming to know God's mind and wishes, which cannot really be challenged. A "deluded argument from ethos". Opposite of: Job's comforter fallacy.

AKA: American exceptionalism, appeal to heaven, argumentum ad coelum, Deus vult, Gott mit uns, special covenant

Ref: [3]

ID: 460_lf

An argument that if something cannot "be measured, quantified and replicated" then "it does not exist", or that "anecdotal, touchy-feely stuff" is "unworthy of serious consideration" due to being mere gossip or subjective opinion. "A corrupt argument from logos and ethos." See also: a priori argument, complex question, lying with statistics, oversimplification procrustean fallacy.

Ref: [3]

ID: 561_lf

memory bias

A general category of "cognitive bias that either enhances or impairs the recall of a memory".

Ref: [6]

ID: 242_cb

A fallacy of preventing discussion of one's point by "drawing a phony curtian of privacy around oneself and one's actions". A counterpart is: heart of darkness syndrome, I think we're alone now, nobody will ever know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

mistaking the map for the territory

A fallacy in which imaginary or abstract concepts or categories are treated as "actual, material things". Treating a word for something as the same as the thing itself. A "fallacy of ambiguity". See also: faulty analogy, essentializing, equivocation.

AKA: fallacy of misplaced concreteness, fallacy of reification, hypostatization, mistaking the map for the territory, reification, reifying

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 802_lf

modality effect

A tendency in which "memory recall is higher for the last items of a list when the list items were received via speech than when they were received through writing". A form of memory bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 247_cb

A tendency to belive that "we see reality as it really is", "objectively and without bias", and "that rational people will agree with us, and that those who do not are either uninformed, lazy, irrational, or biased".

Ref: [6]

ID: 254_cb

name calling

The fallacy of applying a label to an arguer and assigning or implying a conclusion based on that applied label instead of evaluating or addressing the argument at hand. A form of ad hominem. A simplified from of argumentum ad personam.

Ref: [8], [9], [11]

ID: 913_lf

name dropping

The false association of "a famous or respected person, place or thing with an unrelated thesis or standpoint". A "corrupt argument form ethos". See also: star power.

AKA: name dropping, transfer

Ref: [3]

ID: 575_lf

A tendency in which some people "have a greater recall of unpleasant memories compared with positive memories".

Ref: [6]

ID: 257_cb

newspeak

Creating "identification with a certain kind of audience by inventing or using racist or offensive, sometimes military-sounding nicknames for opponents or enemies". An example of: name-calling. See also: ad hominem argument, alphabet soup, reductionism.

Ref: [3]

ID: 578_lf

next-in-line effect

A tendency in which "people tend to have diminished recall for the words of the person who spoke immediately before them" when "taking turns speaking in a group using a predetermined order (e.g. going clockwise around a room, taking numbers, etc)".

Ref: [6]

ID: 258_cb

A tendency to refuse "to plan for, or react to, a disaster which has never happened before". Bias category: cognitive dissonance.

Ref: [6]

ID: 260_cb

normalization of evil

The fallacy that just because something is the current state that is therefore the preferred state. Opposite of: nihilism.

AKA: acquiescence, better the devil you know than the devil you don't, deal with it, default bias, get used to it, if it ain't broke don't fix it, it is what it is, let it be let it be, making one's peace with the situation, normalization of evil, this is the best of all possible worlds, whatever is is right

Ref: [3]

ID: 816_lf

nos quoque

The attempted justification (or minimization of criticism) of some position or action on the basis that oneself or one's own group has also done the same thing. See also: and you too, appeal to hypocrisy, tu quoque, two wrongs make a right, you also, you do it too.

AKA: ego quoque, I do it too, nos quoque, we do it too

Ref: [3]

ID: 523_lf

not in my back yard

The idea that a problem ceases to exist for all practical purposes so long as it can be made to go away to somewhere that is out of sight, or censored, or ignored, perhaps with a focus on positive things instead.

AKA: build a wall, Gitmo solution, lock em up and throw away the key, NIMBY, not in my back yard, ostrich strategy

Ref: [3]

ID: 584_lf

not invented here

A tendency to dislike or avoid the "contact with or use of products, research, standards, or knowledge developed outside a group". Example of: ingroup bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 261_cb

not the cause for the cause

A "catch-all...for mistaking a false cause of an event for the real cause". Example of: false cause, false cause and effect. See also: coincidental correlation, correlation implies causation, cum hoc ergo propter hoc, after this therefore because of this, post hoc argument, post hoc propter hoc, post hoc ergo propter hoc.

AKA: non causa pro causa, not the cause for the cause

Ref: [1], [2], [4]

ID: 795_lf

nothing new under the sun

An incorrect assertion that there "is not and will never be any real novelty in this world". Or, literally, "the more things change, the more they stay the same". A "corruption of the argument from logos".

AKA: plus ca change plus c'est la meme chose, nothing new under the sun, seen it all before, surprise surprise, uniformitarianism

Ref: [3]

ID: 585_lf

nuclear option

Starting with certain requirements for a decision, then, when, the criteria are met, requiring a higher bar. "A fallacy of logos".

AKA: all's fair in love and war, changing the rules, moving the goalposts, winning isn't everything it's the only thing

Ref: [3]

ID: 586_lf

Nuremberg defense

A fallacy which holds that "an argument or action is right simply and solely because a respected leader or source (a President, expert, one's parents, one's own side, team or country, one's boss or commanding officers) says it is right". A corrupted argument from ethos. See also: big brain little brain fallacy, soldiers' honor fallacy.

AKA: blind loyalty, blind obedience, Nuremberg defense, team player appeal, unthinking obedience

Ref: [3]

ID: 372_lf

objectification

A tendency to treat "a person as an object or a thing". See also: anthropomorphism, dehumanised perception, dehumanization.

Ref: [6]

ID: 262_cb

objectivity illusion

A tendency for people to "believe that they are more objective and unbiased than others".

Ref: [6]

ID: 263_cb

obscenity

An attempt to "defend or strengthen one's argument with gratuitous, unrelated sexual, obscene, vulgar, crude or profane language when such language does nothing to make an argument stronger, other than perhaps to create a sense of identity with certain...audiences". A fallacy of pathos. Related to: salacious fallacy. See also: red herring.

AKA: cursing, F-bomb, obscenity, profanity

Ref: [3]

ID: 466_lf

obscurantism

The argument that there are some things that humans, as mere mortals, either simply are not meant to know, or must never seek to know.

AKA: obscurantism, obscurationism, willful ignorance

Ref: [3]

ID: 587_lf

obscurationism

The argument that there are some things that humans, as mere mortals, either simply are not meant to know, or must never seek to know.

AKA: obscurantism, obscurationism, willful ignorance

Ref: [3]

ID: 818_lf

observation selection effect

The tendency for observations about the universe to only be made when there is someone to observe the data or to do the study. Subforms include: weak anthropic principle (universe fine tuning being the result of survivorship bias), strong anthropic principle (the universe being compleled to have conscious, sapient life), participatory anthropic principle (the universe must be observed to exist), final anthropic principle (informational processing as inherent to universe existence). An example of: selection effect.

AKA: anthropic bias, anthropic principle, anthropic selection effect, observation selection effect

Ref: [19], [20]

ID: 691_lf

observer-expectancy effect

A tendency in which "a researcher expects a given result and therefore unconsciously manipulates an experiment or misinterprets data in order to find it". See also: subject-expectancy effect.

Ref: [6]

ID: 264_cb

October surprise

Typically, an attempt to end a debate by pretending to have "just remembered or uncovered some salient fact, argument or evidence", or suddenly presenting some sensational information only to then quuietly admit its lack of direct relevance to the topic at hand. A "corrupt argument from logos".

AKA: judicial surprise, oh I forgot, I forgot, oops, October surprise

Ref: [3]

ID: 690_lf

oh I forgot

Typically, an attempt to end a debate by pretending to have "just remembered or uncovered some salient fact, argument or evidence", or suddenly presenting some sensational information only to then quuietly admit its lack of direct relevance to the topic at hand. A "corrupt argument from logos".

AKA: judicial surprise, oh I forgot, I forgot, oops, October surprise

Ref: [3]

ID: 684_lf

olfactory rhetoric

otherizing

An argument in which facts are arbitrarily discarded due to a claim that another group of people are different from the in-group. A "bady corrupted...argument from ethos". A form of: ad hominem argument, argumentum ad hominem, argument toward the man, attacking the person, personal attack, poisoning the well. See also: dehumanised perception, dehumanization.

AKA: othering, otherizing, prejudice, racism, speakee fallacy, stereotyping, they're not like us, xenophobia, you speakee da english

Ref: [3]

ID: 821_lf

outcome bias

As a logical fallacy (outcome bias): a fallacy of claiming that something cannot be true because, if it were true, that would be bad or have a negative effect (while in reality the validity of the claim does not actually depend on the positive or negative impact of the claims). A fallacy of relevance. (See also: outcome bias. Do not confuse with: actions have consequences. As a cognitive bias (outcome bias): a fallacy "to judge a decision by its eventual outcome instead of the quality of the decision at the time it was made."

AKA: argument from consequences, outcome bias

Ref: [6]

ID: 268_cb_lf

outgroup favoritism

A tendency in which "some socially disadvantaged groups will express favorable attitudes (and even preferences) toward social, cultural, or ethnic groups other than their own". A form of: social bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 269_cb

outgroup homogeneity bias

A tendency in which "individuals see members of other groups as being relatively less varied than members of their own group". A form of: ingroup bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 270_cb

overconfidence effect

A tendency to "have excessive confidence in one's own answers to questions". A form of: egocentric bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 271_cb

An argument that "one's words or actions, no matter how damaging or evil" do not count due to having panicked. See also: diminished responsibility, venting.

Ref: [3]

ID: 593_lf

paralysis of analysis

An argument that since all data is never available, therefore no decision can ever be made and action should always be delayed. A "corruption of...argument from logos". See also: law of unintended consequences.

AKA: analysis paralysis, nirvana fallacy, paralysis of analysis, procrastination

Ref: [3]

ID: 594_lf

paranoia

A fallacy in which one takes "advantage of a emergent or deliberately-created crisis and its associated public shock, panic and chaos in order to impose an argument, action or solution that would be clearly unacceptable if carefully considered". A "corrupted argument from pathos". A form of playing on emotions. See also: shopping hungry fallacy, dog-whistle politics, we have to do something, worst-case fallacy.

AKA: appeal to fear, bogeyman fallacy, paranoia, scare tactics, shockdoc, shock doctrine, rally 'round the flag, rally 'round the president

Ref: [3]

ID: 823_lf

pareidolia

A tendency to "to perceive a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) as significant". A form of: apophenia.

Ref: [6]

ID: 272_cb

pars pro toto fallacy

An assumption that what is true of a part is necessarily true of the whole. Literally, "pars pro toto" means "part for the whole". See also: overgeneralization, totus pro partes, mereological fallacy.

Ref: [3]

ID: 595_lf

part-list cueing effect

A tendency in which "being shown some items from a list and later retrieving one item causes it to become harder to retrieve the other items". A form of: memory bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 273_cb

passive voice fallacy

An obverse is: be-verb fallacy.

AKA: bureaucratic passive, passive voice fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 596_lf

A tendency in which "people seem to perceive not the sum of an experience but the average of how it was at its peak (e.g., pleasant or unpleasant) and how it ended". A form of: memory bias.

Ref: [6]

ID: 274_cb

Peltzman effect

A tendency to "take greater risks when perceived safety increases".

AKA: Peltzman effect, risk compensation

Ref: [6]

ID: 306_cb

perfect is the enemy of good

A fallacy of pointing out that nobody could have been a hero because "nobody and nothing in this world is perfect". Examples: pointing out the faults of historic figures generally held to have been otherwise heroic in some way; reviewing everything a political opponent has ever done or said to find something to condemn or misinterpret. A "postmodern fallacy of ethos". Opposite of: hereoes all. Can aid: identity fallacy.

AKA: hero-busting, perfect is the enemy of good, the perfect is the enemy of the good

Ref: [3]

ID: 070_lf

Perky effect

A tendency "real images" to "influence imagined images, or be misremembered as imagined rather than real". An example of: misattribution of memory.

Ref: [6]

ID: 346_cb

persistence

A tendency for a traumatic event to result in unwanted recurrence of memories.

Ref: [6]

ID: 275_cb

personal attack

Arguing against the opposing party instead of the reasoning given by the opposing party. This might question the intelligence, credentials, or character of the opposition. A "corrupted negative argument from ethos". Subcategories include abusive and circumstantial types. A fallacy of relevance. The opposite of star power. An obverse is token endorsement. See also: guilt by association.

AKA: ad hominem argument, argumentum ad hominem, argument toward the man, attacking the person, personal attack, poisoning the well

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 002_lf

playing to emotions

"An emotional appeal to what should be a logical issue". "Opposite to this is...chosen emotion fallacy. Often, "a fallacy of encouragement to root of the underdog regardless of the issues at hand". "A corrupt argument from pathos." A fallacy of relevance. Closely related to angelism. "Opposite to this is...chosen emotion fallacy." Opposite of: appeal to rigor.

AKA: affective fallacy, appeal to emotion, appeal to pity, argument from pity, argumentum ad misericordiam, emotion over reflection, follow your heart, playing to emotions, romantic fallacy

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 106_cb

pleasure-hating

An attempt to gain positive benefit from extreme exercise, the infliction of pain, intentional starvation, or similar practices while denying that discomfort and pain are definite signals warning against bodily damage. A "fallacy of logos". Opposite of: hedonism.

AKA: live as though you're dying, mortification, no pain no gain, pleasure-hating

Ref: [3]

ID: 602_lf

plus ca change plus c'est la meme chose

An incorrect assertion that there "is not and will never be any real novelty in this world". Or, literally, "the more things change, the more they stay the same". A "corruption of the argument from logos".

AKA: the more things change the more they stay the same

Ref: [3]

ID: 829_lf

poisoning the well

Ref: [6]

ID: 285_cb

profanity

An attempt to "defend or strengthen one's argument with gratuitous, unrelated sexual, obscene, vulgar, crude or profane language when such language does nothing to make an argument stronger, other than perhaps to create a sense of identity with certain...audiences". A fallacy of pathos. Related to: salacious fallacy. See also: red herring.

AKA: cursing, F-bomb, obscenity, profanity

Ref: [3]

ID: 471_lf

profiteering

Fallacy saying that those who are less capable therefore are less deserving and therefore can be justifiably victimized due to how nature is.

AKA: con artist's fallacy, dacoit's fallacy, profiteering, shearing the sheeple, vulture capitalism, wealth is the disease and I am the cure

Ref: [3]

ID: 472_lf

projection bias

As a cognitive bias, a tendency "to overestimate how much one's future selves will share one's current preferences, thoughts and values, thus leading to sub-optimal choices". As a logical fallacy, an automatic and false assumption that everybody in some group context shares "basically the same (positive) wishes, desires, interests, concerns, ethics and moral code". A "fallacy of ethos".

Ref: [3], [6]

ID: 289_cb_lf

proof texting

A given pre-conceived conclusion is determined from the start, then any argument is sought to support it. Reasoning "from what is before" without observation or experience. Deciding that some claim is true and then "searching for any reasonable or reasonable-sounding argument to rationalize, defend or justify it". A "corrupt arguent form logos". Opposite of: taboo. See also: argument from ignorance.

AKA: a priori argument, proof texting, rationalization

Ref: [3]

ID: 838_lf

propaganda

Ref: [6]

ID: 295_cb

reactive devaluation

A tendency to devalue proposals "only because they purportedly originated with an adversary.".

Ref: [6]

ID: 296_cb

reading the roll of martyrs

The use of a long list of names (often unknown to the audience) to underline the gravity of an event, since proper names "can have near-mystical persuasive power". A "fallacy of pathos and ethos".

AKA: prosopology, prosopography, reciting the litany, tell me what were their names, reading the roll of martyrs

Ref: [3]

ID: 846_lf

real feelings

A claim that "certain classes of living beings...in general are deemed incapable of experiencing...[certain feelings] like we do, or of having any real feelings at all". Opposite of: playing on emotion. See also: apathetic fallacy, burnout, compassion fatigue, cynicism.

AKA: refinement, real feelings

Ref: [3]

ID: 077_lf

recency bias

A fallacy that a view or other thing must be correct or better because it is new or recent.

AKA: appeal to novelty, bad old days, early adopter's fallacy, pro-innovation bias, recency bias

Ref: [6]

ID: 297_cb

recency effect

A "form of serial position effect where an item at the end of a list is easier to recall". Can be disrupted by: suffix effet. See also: primacy effect.

Ref: [6]

ID: 298_cb

A fallacy in which imaginary or abstract concepts or categories are treated as "actual, material things". Treating a word for something as the same as the thing itself. A "fallacy of ambiguity". See also: faulty analogy, essentializing, equivocation.

AKA: fallacy of misplaced concreteness, fallacy of reification, hypostatization, mistaking the map for the territory, reification, reifying

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 614_lf

relativizing

A fallacy of dismissing arguments on the basis such as "it all depends", "that's your opinion; eveything is relative", or "whatever...I don't feel like arguing about it". May falsely invoke concepts from physics such as Einstein's relativity theory or Heisenberg's uncertainty uncertainty principle as an argument. Opposite of: essentializing.

Ref: [3]

ID: 615_lf

reminiscence bump

A tendnecy to recall "more personal events from adolescence and early adulthood than personal events from other lifetime periods".

Ref: [6]

ID: 300_cb

rent control fallacy

A mistaken belief that "rent caps lower prices". A fallacy surrounding: capitalism.

Ref: [27]

ID: 861_lf

scoring

The inappropriate application of sports analogy to other domains. See also: evening up the score, getting even.

AKA: hey sports fans, moving the ball down the field, scoring, sports world fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 623_lf

scripted message

The strict limitation of public statements on a topic to ones that have been carefully prepared and are often "exaggerated or empty phrases developed to achieve maximum acceptance or maximum desired reaction from a target audience". Opposite of: venting. See also: big lie technique, dog whistle politics, political correctness.

AKA: scripted message, talking points

Ref: [3]

ID: 624_lf

Scrooge McDuck fallacy

A mistaken belief that "wealthy peole hoard their money in bank vaults". A fallacy surrounding: capitalism.

Ref: [27]

ID: 878_lf

The result when "the members of a statistical sample are not chosen completely at random", and as a result, the sample is "not representative of the population". An example of: availability heuristic.

AKA: selection bias, selection effect

Ref: [6], [20]

ID: 469_cb

Fallacy saying that those who are less capable therefore are less deserving and therefore can be justifiably victimized due to how nature is.

AKA: con artist's fallacy, dacoit's fallacy, profiteering, shearing the sheeple, vulture capitalism, wealth is the disease and I am the cure

Ref: [3]

ID: 477_lf

The making of important decisions poorly while "under the influence of strong emotion". A "fallacy of pathos". See also: big but fallacy, playing on emotions, scare tactics, we have to do something.

Ref: [3]

ID: 633_lf

A fallacy of putting forth an argument that the argue knows is invalid. Includes: motivational truth, demagogy, campaign promises, self deception, whistling by the graveyward.

AKA: arguing in bad faith, mala fides, sophism

Ref: [3]

ID: 864_lf

source confusion

A phenomenon in which "episodic memories are confused with other information, creating distorted memories".

Ref: [6]

ID: 324_cb

spacing effect

A tendency in which "information is better recalled if exposure to it is repeated over a long span of time rather than a short one".

Ref: [6]

ID: 325_cb

speakee fallacy

An argument in which facts are arbitrarily discarded due to a claim that another group of people are different from the in-group. A "bady corrupted...argument from ethos". A form of: ad hominem argument, argumentum ad hominem, argument toward the man, attacking the person, personal attack, poisoning the well. See also: dehumanised perception, dehumanization.

AKA: othering, otherizing, prejudice, racism, speakee fallacy, stereotyping, they're not like us, xenophobia, you speakee da english

Ref: [3]

ID: 640_lf

special covenant

A fallacy based on claiming to know God's mind and wishes, which cannot really be challenged. A "deluded argument from ethos". Opposite of: Job's comforter fallacy.

AKA: American exceptionalism, appeal to heaven, argumentum ad coelum, Deus vult, Gott mit uns, manifest destiny

Ref: [3]

ID: 478_lf

special pleading

A fallacy of stating "a generally-accepted principle and then directly negating it with a 'but'. Often detailed as a special case "supposedly exempt from the usual rules of law, logic, morality, ethics or even credibility". Closely related to: contradictory premises. A component fallacy.

AKA: big but fallacy, special pleading

Ref: [1], [3]

ID: 022_lf

sports world fallacy

The inappropriate application of sports analogy to other domains. See also: evening up the score, getting even.

AKA: hey sports fans, moving the ball down the field, scoring, sports world fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 641_lf

spotlight effect

A tendecy to "overestimate the amount that other people notice one's appearance or behavior".

Ref: [6]

ID: 326_cb

squeaky wheel gets the grease

A fallacy of obtaining a result not through argument but through the audience's willingness to give in so that the opposition will simply be satisfied, quieter, or no longer a nuisance. Common in public agencies, education, and retail. Sometimes promoted as a practical, nonviolent way for groups to promote change. See also: bribery.

AKA: appeasement, assertiveness, i know my rights, squeaky wheel gets the grease

Ref: [3]

ID: 479_lf

stacking the deck

A fallacy of ignoring examples or evidence that disprove one's point and instead only listing examples or sharing evidence which would support one's point. A fallacy of omission. A "corrupt argument from logos". Different from: straw man. See also: confirmation bias, hasty generalization.

AKA: card stacking, half truth, incomplete information, stacking the deck

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 028_lf

A position that "those who fight and die for their country...are worthy of honor or at least pardonable" regardless of their particular allegiance, while "those who fight for a non-state actor...are not...no matter...their cause...unless they win and become the recognized state or are adopted by a state after the fact".

Ref: [3]

ID: 644_lf

state-dependent memory

A tendency in which "recall of information" is "congruent with one's current mood".

AKA: mood-congruent memory bias, state-dependent memory

Ref: [6]

ID: 250_cb

Ref: [6]

ID: 331_cb_lf

subject-expectancy effect

A phenomenon in which a "research subject expects a given result and therefore unconsciously affects the outcome, or reports the expected result". See also: observer-expectancy effect.

Ref: [6]

ID: 332_cb

superiority bias

take names and kick butt

A phenomenon of deceptively allowing, encouraging, or demanding free and open brainstorming or discussion, which is only temporary and for the purpose of identifying and then punishing the opposition.

AKA: take names and kick butt, thousand flowers fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 870_lf

talking points

The strict limitation of public statements on a topic to ones that have been carefully prepared and are often "exaggerated or empty phrases developed to achieve maximum acceptance or maximum desired reaction from a target audience". Opposite of: venting. See also: big lie technique, dog whistle politics, political correctness.

AKA: scripted message, talking points

Ref: [3]

ID: 650_lf

teach the controversy

Presenting an issue in such a way that makes it seemas though there are "two sides of equal weight or significance, when in fact a consensus or much stronger argument supports just one side".

AKA: false balance, false equivalence, teach the controversy, two-sides fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 871_lf

team player appeal

A fallacy which holds that "an argument or action is right simply and solely because a respected leader or source (a President, expert, one's parents, one's own side, team or country, one's boss or commanding officers) says it is right". A corrupted argument from ethos. See also: big brain little brain fallacy, soldiers' honor fallacy.

AKA: blind loyalty, blind obedience, Nuremberg defense, team player appeal, unthinking obedience

Ref: [3]

ID: 482_lf

teleological bias

A tendency to "engage in overgeneralized ascriptions of purpose to entities and events that did not arise from goal-directed action, design, or selection based on functional effects".

Ref: [6]

ID: 343_cb

telescoping effect

A tendency to "displace recent events backwards in time and remote events forward in time".

Ref: [6]

ID: 344_cb

tell me what were their names

The use of a long list of names (often unknown to the audience) to underline the gravity of an event, since proper names "can have near-mystical persuasive power". A "fallacy of pathos and ethos".

AKA: prosopology, prosopography, reciting the litany, tell me what were their names, reading the roll of martyrs

Ref: [3]

ID: 368_lf

testimonial

A fallacy in which arguments "are granted fame and validity or condemed to obscurity soley by whoever may be the reigning stars or premier journals of the profession or discpline at the moment". A "corrupt argument from ethos". Includes: faulty use of quotes.

AKA: eminence-based practice, falacia ad verecundiam, faulty use of authority, questionable authority, star power, testimonial

Ref: [3]

ID: 916_lf

testing effect

A tendency to "more easily recall information one has read by rewriting it instead of rereading it".

Ref: [6]

ID: 345_cb

Texas sharpshooter fallacy

A fallacy in which "differences in data are ignored, but similarities are overemphasized". An "informal fallacy".

Ref: [22]

ID: 708_

A scenario in which an "extremely common contemporary [phenomenon] of ignoring news and news media because none tells the objective truth and all push some agenda" results in, instead of reviewing "a variety of media sources in order to get any approximation of reality", "many...people..." then totally ignore "news...and public affairs altogether". See also: deliberate ignorance, they're all crooks, third person effect.

Ref: [3]

ID: 652_lf

Ref: [6]

ID: 348_cb

TINA

The rejection of opposing ideas on the basis that "there is no realistic alternative to a given standpoint, status or action, arbitrarily ruling any and all other options out of bounds, or announcing that a decision has been made and any further discussion is insubordination, disloyalty, treason, disobedience or simply a waste of precious time when there's a job to be done". An extension of: either/or fallacy. A form of: appeal to force, argument from force, argument from strength, argument from the club (stick), argumentum ad baculum, bullying, fascism, hard power, might-makes-right, muscular leadership, non-negotiable demands, power-play, resolution by force of arms, shock and awe. See also: taboo, finish the job. See also: appeal to closure, acquiescence, better the devil you know than the devil you don't, deal with it, default bias, get used to it, if it ain't broke don't fix it, it is what it is, let it be let it be, making one's peace with the situation, normalization of evil, this is the best of all possible worlds, whatever is is right.

ID: 660_lf

trust your heart

The use primarily of gut feelings instead of reason or evidence when deciding something. A "corrupt argument from pathos". See also: affective fallacy, deliberate ignorance, third person effect.

AKA: emotional reasoning, trust your feelings, trust your gut, trust your heart, trust your instincts, trust your intuition

Ref: [3]

ID: 887_lf

trust your instincts

The use primarily of gut feelings instead of reason or evidence when deciding something. A "corrupt argument from pathos". See also: affective fallacy, deliberate ignorance, third person effect.

AKA: emotional reasoning, trust your feelings, trust your gut, trust your heart, trust your instincts, trust your intuition

Ref: [3]

ID: 888_lf

trust your intuition

The use primarily of gut feelings instead of reason or evidence when deciding something. A "corrupt argument from pathos". See also: affective fallacy, deliberate ignorance, third person effect.

AKA: emotional reasoning, trust your feelings, trust your gut, trust your heart, trust your instincts, trust your intuition

Ref: [3]

ID: 889_lf

A tendency to be surprised by a break in at trend "if one does not know the causes or the framework conditions for this trend".

Ref: [6]

ID: 353_cb

two truths

A position that "there exists one truth in one given environment (e.g., in science, work or school) and simultaneously a different, formally contradictory but equally true truth in a different epistemic system, context, environment, intended audience or discourse community (e.g., in one's religion or at home)". A "fallacy of logos and ethos". See also: alternative truth, disciplinary blinders.

AKA: compartmentalization, epistemically closed systems, two truths

Ref: [3]

ID: 663_lf

two wrongs make a right

An argument that something is acceptable because the opposition has also done it or an argument that an offered position must be false because the party putting it forth has not always acted in accordance with the position that they put forth. A "corrupt argument form ethos". A form of ad hominem. See also: ego quoque, nos quoque.

AKA: and you too, appeal to hypocrisy, tu quoque, two wrongs make a right, you also, you do it too

Ref: [1], [2], [3], [4]

ID: 892_lf

two-sides fallacy

Presenting an issue in such a way that makes it seemas though there are "two sides of equal weight or significance, when in fact a consensus or much stronger argument supports just one side".

AKA: false balance, false equivalence, teach the controversy, two-sides fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 664_lf

A fallacy in which the same proposition appears as a premise and as a conclusion (sometimes worded in two statements appearing differently enough to make this not very obvious); for example, "A, therefore B." and also "B, therefore A". Sometimes, begging the question and circular reasoning are used interchangeably and sometimes with a difference--begging the question or petitio principii more specifically assumes as evidence the conclusion they are trying to prove.) A fallacy of logos. A component fallacy. See also: complex question, big lie technique.

AKA: begging the question, catch 22, circular reasoning, circulus in probando, petitio principii, vicious circle

Ref: [1], [2], [3]

ID: 487_lf

voice of the voiceless

One who says that there exists a silent majority may then claim for themselves the title of being the voice of those who are voiceless, even if there is no evidence of such a group of people sharing their position.

Ref: [3]

ID: 667_lf

von Restorff effect

A tendency in which "an item that sticks out is more likely to be remembered than other items".

Ref: [6]

ID: 361_cb

vulture capitalism

Fallacy saying that those who are less capable therefore are less deserving and therefore can be justifiably victimized due to how nature is.

AKA: con artist's fallacy, dacoit's fallacy, profiteering, shearing the sheeple, vulture capitalism, wealth is the disease and I am the cure

Ref: [3]

ID: 488_lf

Fallacy saying that those who are less capable therefore are less deserving and therefore can be justifiably victimized due to how nature is.

AKA: con artist's fallacy, dacoit's fallacy, profiteering, shearing the sheeple, vulture capitalism, wealth is the disease and I am the cure

Ref: [3]

ID: 489_lf

Weber–Fechner law

Dual tendencies in which "the perceived change in stimuli is proportional to the initial stimuli" and also "for multiplications in stimulus strength, the strength of perception only adds" (except, neither tendency is the case "at low intensity").

Ref: [6]

ID: 362_cb

A phenomenon in which people opt to remain in ignorance rather than listening to "mainstream media, the president, the medical establishment, professionals, pforessors, doctors, the academic elite, or other authorities or information sources, even about urgent subjects" and instead of becoming educated and participatory on a subject, thus laeding such uninformed people to believe that others are more influenced by mass media in comparsion with themselves. Example of: deliberate ignorance. See also: simpleton's fallacy, trust your gut.

AKA: they're all liars, third person effect, wise up

Ref: [3]

ID: 639_lf

wishful thinking

A tendency to belive something based on "what might be pleasing to imagine, rather than on evidence, rationality, or reality".

Ref: [6], [30]

ID: 364_cb

women are wonderful effect

A tendency to "associate more positive attributes with women than with men".

Ref: [6]

ID: 365_cb

work exploitation fallacy

A mistaken belief that "employment is a form of exploitation". A fallacy surrounding: capitalism.

Ref: [27]

ID: 826_lf

worse-than-average effect

A tendency to "believe ourselves to be worse than others at tasks which are difficult".

Ref: [6]

ID: 366_cb

worst negates the bad

A fallacy in which it is claimed that "an objectively bad situation somehow isn't so bad simply because it could have been far worse, or because someone, somewhere has it even worse".

AKA: be grateful for what you've got, worst negates the bad

Ref: [3]

ID: 674_lf

worst-case fallacy

A fallacy of pessimism with reasoning based on a far-fetched, unlikely, or even entirely imaginary worst-case scenario isntead of being based on reality.

AKA: an abundance of caution, better safe than sorry, better to prevent than to lament, just in case, we can't afford to take chances, worst-case fallacy

Ref: [3]

ID: 675_lf

xenophobia

An argument in which facts are arbitrarily discarded due to a claim that another group of people are different from the in-group. A "bady corrupted...argument from ethos". A form of: ad hominem argument, argumentum ad hominem, argument toward the man, attacking the person, personal attack, poisoning the well. See also: dehumanised perception, dehumanization.

AKA: othering, otherizing, prejudice, racism, speakee fallacy, stereotyping, they're not like us, xenophobia, you speakee da english

Ref: [3]

ID: 904_lf

you also

An argument that something is acceptable because the opposition has also done it or an argument that an offered position must be false because the party putting it forth has not always acted in accordance with the position that they put forth. A "corrupt argument form ethos". A form of ad hominem. See also: ego quoque, nos quoque.

AKA: and you too, appeal to hypocrisy, tu quoque, two wrongs make a right, you also, you do it too

Ref: [1], [2], [3], [4]

ID: 490_lf

you can't win if you don't play

An obverse of: Hoyle's fallacy.

Ref: [3]

ID: 676_lf

you do it too

An argument that something is acceptable because the opposition has also done it or an argument that an offered position must be false because the party putting it forth has not always acted in accordance with the position that they put forth. A "corrupt argument form ethos". A form of ad hominem. See also: ego quoque, nos quoque.

AKA: and you too, appeal to hypocrisy, tu quoque, two wrongs make a right, you also, you do it too

Ref: [1], [2], [3], [4]

ID: 905_lf

you speakee da english

An argument in which facts are arbitrarily discarded due to a claim that another group of people are different from the in-group. A "bady corrupted...argument from ethos". A form of: ad hominem argument, argumentum ad hominem, argument toward the man, attacking the person, personal attack, poisoning the well. See also: dehumanised perception, dehumanization.

AKA: othering, otherizing, prejudice, racism, speakee fallacy, stereotyping, they're not like us, xenophobia, you speakee da english

Ref: [3]

ID: 677_lf

you're not the boss of me

A fallacy of preventing discussion of one's point by "drawing a phony curtian of privacy around oneself and one's actions". A counterpart is: heart of darkness syndrome, I think we're alone now, nobody will ever know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

AKA: appeal to privacy, mind your own business, MYOB, none of yer beeswax, so what, you're not the boss of me

Ref: [3]

ID: 907_lf

Zeigarnik effect

A phenomenon in which "uncompleted or interrupted tasks are remembered better than completed ones".

Ref: [6]

ID: 367_cb

zero tolerance

A fallacy of "declaring an 'emergency' and promising to disregard justice and due process and devote unlimited resources (and occasionally, unlimited cruelty) to stamp out a limited, insignificant or even nonexistent problem". A "corrupt and cynical argument from pathos". "Almost always politically driven." A "sinister" form of dog whistle politics. An example of: we have to do something (placebo effect, political theater, security theater, we have to send a message).

AKA: broken windows policing, disproportionate response, even one is too many, judenrein, exemplary punishment, zero-risk bias, zero tolerance

Ref: [3]

ID: 679_lf

zero-risk bias

As a cognitive bias, a "preference for reducing a small risk to zero over a greater reduction in a larger risk". A form of: extension neglect. As a logical fallacy, a fallacy of "declaring an 'emergency' and promising to disregard justice and due process and devote unlimited resources (and occasionally, unlimited cruelty) to stamp out a limited, insignificant or even nonexistent problem". A "corrupt and cynical argument from pathos". "Almost always politically driven." A "sinister" form of dog whistle politics. An example of: we have to do something (placebo effect, political theater, security theater, we have to send a message).

AKA: broken windows policing, disproportionate response, even one is too many, judenrein, exemplary punishment, zero-risk bias, zero tolerance

Ref: [3], [6]

ID: 908_cb_lf

zero-sum bias

A phenomenon in which "a situation is incorrectly perceived to be like a zero-sum game (i.e., one person gains at the expense of another)".

Ref: [6]

ID: 369_cb_lf

zero-sum fallacy

A mistaken belief that "there is a fixed pie of wealth, and every winner creates a loser". Also, the idea that "there is a finite amount of work--a lump of labour--to be done within an economy which can be distributed to create more or fewer jobs". A fallacy surrounding: capitalism. See also: zero-sum bias.

AKA: fallacy of labour scarcity, fixed pie fallacy, lump of jobs fallacy, zero-sum fallacy

Ref: [27], [33]

ID: 919_lf

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