Showing all 919 entries
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 priori argument
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.
Ref: [3]
ID: 494_lf
a woman's got to do what a woman'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 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: 911_lf
ableism
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, shearing the sheeple, profiteering, vulture capitalism, wealth is the disease and I am the cure
Ref: [3]
ID: 040_lf
accident
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: 761_lf
accomplish the mission
An argumentum ad baculum (argument from force) that implies arriving at an outcome by setting aside morality.
AKA: by any means necessary, find a way, I don't care how you do it, just do it
Ref: [3]
ID: 694_lf
acquiescence
The fallacy that just because something is the current state that is therefore the preferred state. Opposite of: nihilism.
AKA: 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, this is the only possible world, whatever is is right
Ref: [3]
ID: 695_lf
action bias
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.
AKA: alt facts, alternate facts, alternative truth, counterknowledge, disinformation, information pollution
Ref: [3]
ID: 376_lf
alternative truth
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: 046_lf
ambiguity effect
A tendency to avoid options with outcomes that have unknown probabilities.
Ref: [6]
ID: 102_cb
American exceptionalism
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: appeal to heaven, argumentum ad coelum, Deus vult, Gott mit uns, manifest destiny, special covenant
Ref: [3]
ID: 377_lf
amphiboly
Literally, "indeterminate". A fallacy in which a conclusion relies on interpreting a sentence to mean one thing, when the inclusion of that sentence as a premise was intended to mean something else. Possible because some sentences can be read multiple ways with different meanings depending on word usage. A fallacy of ambiguity. Compare with: equivocation.
Ref: [1]
ID: 024_lf
an abundance of caution
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: 697_lf
analysis paralysis
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 compelled 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 compelled 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 curtain 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 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).
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.
AKA: attentional bias
Ref: [6]
ID: 110_cb
attentional bias
A tendency for perception to be influenced by thought repetition. See also: anchoring bias, availability bias, availability heuristic, focalism.
AKA: attention bias
Ref: [6]
ID: 403_lf
attribute substitution
A cognitive bias in which "a judgment has to be made (of a target attribute) that is computationally complex, and instead a more easily calculated heuristic attribute is substituted" in which the substitution is thought to take place automatically instead of with self-awarene reflection.
Ref: [6]
ID: 111_cb
attribution error
A tendency to assume that others' (poor) behavior results from character defects (personality) while under-emphasizing the influence of the situation on others' behavior, while, at the same time, one's own behavior is held to be due to environmental factors (situtation). A "corrupt argument from ethos". Obverse is: self debasement, self deprecation. See also: group attribution error, ultimate attribution error.
AKA: attribution error, fundamental attribution error, self justification
Ref: [3], [6]
ID: 705_lf
authority bias
A tendency to "attribute greater accuracy to the opinion of an authority figure (unrelated to its content) and be more influenced by that opinion". A social bias. A form of association fallacy.
Ref: [6]
ID: 112_cb
autist's fallacy
A fallacy in which normal human capacity for "theory of mind" is entirely denied in which it is held that no one can truly understand or know "another's thoughts, emotions, motivations or intents". The opposite of: mind-reading.
AKA: autist's fallacy, mind blindness
Ref: [3]
ID: 503_lf
automation bias
A bias in which ones depends too much on automated systems that "can lead to erroneous automated information overriding correct decisions".
Ref: [6]
ID: 113_cb
availability bias
Related: hyperbole, magnification, catastrophizing. See also: anchoring bias, attention bias, attentional bias, availability bias, focalism.
AKA: availability bias, availability heuristic
Ref: [3]
ID: 062_lf
availability bias
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
bandwagon effect
A cognitive bias in which people tend "do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same". See also: groupthink and herd behavior as concepts in social psychology.
Ref: [6]
ID: 119_cb
bandwagon fallacy
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: 406_lf
Barnum 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". Some say astrology is an example. A form of egocentric bias. See also: confirmation bias.
AKA: Barnum effect, fallacy of personal validation, Forer effect
Ref: [6]
ID: 120_cb
base rate fallacy
A tendency "to ignore general information and focus on information only pertaining to the specific case, even when the general information is more important". A form of extension neglect.
AKA: base rate fallacy, base rate neglect
Ref: [6]
ID: 121_cb
base rate neglect
A "tendency to ignore general information and focus on information only pertaining to the specific case, even when the general information is more important". A form of extension neglect.
AKA: base rate fallacy, base rate neglect
Ref: [6]
ID: 686_cb
be grateful for what you've got
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: 707_lf
be-verb fallacy
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
blaming the victim
A fallacy in which one "casts the blame for one's own evil or questionable actions on those affected". A form of: scapegoating, blamecasting. See also: affective fallacy.
Ref: [3]
ID: 508_lf
bleeding heart
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: 714_lf
blind loyalty
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: 066_lf
blind obedience
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: 411_lf
blood is thicker than water
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: blood is thicker than water, compadrismo, favoritism, for my friends anything
Ref: [3]
ID: 067_lf
blood of the martyrs fallacy
A fallacy holding that "a cause or argument, no matter how questionable or reprehensible, cannot be questioned without dishonoring the blood and sacrifice of those who died so nobly for that cause". An extreme example of: E for effort, I'm trying by best, lost cause. See also: appeal to pity, argument from inertia, cost bias, heroes all, sob story, soldiers' honor fallacy.
AKA: blood of the martyrs fallacy, waving the bloody shirt
Ref: [3]
ID: 509_lf
bogeyman fallacy
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: 716_lf
bold faced lie
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: 412_lf
boundary extension
A tendency to remember an image's background as "larger or more expansive" compared with the foreground. A memory bias.
Ref: [6]
ID: 128_cb
brainwashing
The idea that "an enemy can instantly win over or radicalize an unsuspecting" individual with "vile but...persuasive propaganda" or by "beating an argument into" an a prisoner in coordination with techniques involving harsh treatment or drugs. Generally used in the sense that only the other side can brainwash, while one's own side does not. See also: bribery, love bombing, Stockholm syndrome.
AKA: brainwashing, propaganda, radicalization
Ref: [3]
ID: 068_lf
brave heretic
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.
AKA: brave heretic, conspiracy theories, iconoclastic fallacy, romantic rebel, truthout fallacy, truthdig fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 718_lf
bribery
A fallacy of obtaining a position through "gifts or favors". Often does not stick unless bribes continue. The reverse of: argumentum ad baculum, appeal to force, argument from the club (stick), argument from force, might-makes-right. See also: appeasement, assertiveness, I know my rights, squeaky wheel gets the grease.
AKA: bribery, financial incentive, material incentive, material persuasion
Ref: [3]
ID: 510_lf
broken windows policing
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: 719_lf
build a wall
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: 519_lf
bullying
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: 720_lf
bureaucratic passive
An obverse is: be-verb fallacy.
AKA: bureaucratic passive, passive voice fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 721_lf
burnout
The fallacy in which legitimate arguments are ignored due claimed lack of caring.
AKA: apathetic fallacy, compassion fatigue, cynicism
Ref: [3]
ID: 722_lf
by any means necessary
An argumentum ad baculum (argument from force) that implies arriving at an outcome by setting aside morality.
AKA: accomplish the mission, find a way, I don't care how you do it, just do it
Ref: [3]
ID: 723_lf
calling "cards"
A fallacy of "arbitrarily and falsely dismissing familiar or easily-anticipated but valid, reasoned objections to one's standpoint with a wave of the hand", as though such objections were mere "cards" in some sort of "game" of rhetoric. A fallacy of logos. See also: taboo, political correctness.
Ref: [3]
ID: 511_lf
camel's nose fallacy
A fallacy holding that "one thing inevitably leads to another" when this is not necessarily the case. A non sequitur.
AKA: camel's nose fallacy, domino theory, slippery slope
Ref: [1], [3]
ID: 413_lf
campaign promises
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: 512_lf
card stacking
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: 414_lf
catch 22
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: 415_lf
changing the rules
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, moving the goalposts, nuclear option, winning isn't everything it's the only thing
Ref: [3]
ID: 513_lf
cheerleader effect
A tendency " for people to appear more attractive in a group than in isolation". A social bias. A form of association fallacy.
Ref: [6]
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
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.
AKA: brave heretic, conspiracy theories, iconoclastic fallacy, romantic rebel, truthout fallacy, truthdig fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 727_lf
context effect
The tendency for "out-of-context memories" to be "mopre difficult to retrieve than in-context memories". A memory bias.
Ref: [6]
ID: 142_cb
context neglect bias
A tendency to "neglect the human context of technological challenges". A framing effect bias.
Ref: [6]
ID: 143_cb
continued influence effect
A tendency for misinformation to "influence memory and reasoning about an event, despite the misinformation having been corrected". See also: misinformation effect.
Ref: [6]
ID: 144_cb
contradictory premises
Closely related to Special Pleading. A component fallacy.
Ref: [1]
ID: 021_lf
contrast effect
The "enhancement or reduction of a certain stimulus's perception when compared with a recently observed, contrasting object". An example of: framing effect.
Ref: [6]
ID: 145_cb
control voice
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.
AKA: control voice, muscular foreign policy, no discussion, no negotiation, peace through strength
Ref: [3]
ID: 728_lf
converse accident
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: 423_lf
corporate tax dodge callacy
A mistaken belief that "corporations don't pay any tax". A fallacy surrounding: capitalism.
Ref: [27]
ID: 873_lf
correlation implies causation
Claiming that "because two things occurr at the same time, one has caused the other". See also: coincidental correlation, false cause, false cause and effect, 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: correlation implies causation, cum hoc ergo propter hoc
Ref: [1], [2], [3], [4]
ID: 035_lf
cost bias
A fallacy in which an expensive thing is regarded more highly than a free or inexpensive thing, "regardless of the item's real quality, utility, or true value to the purchaser". "A fallacy of ethos (that of a product)."
Ref: [3]
ID: 072_lf
counterknowledge
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: 424_lf
courtesy bias
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
cross-race effect
The tendency "for people of one race to have difficulty identifying members of a race other than their own". An example of: memory bias.
Ref: [6]
ID: 147_cb
crowdsourcing
The idea that the market or the crowd is infallible, ignoring historical examples of the majority having been wrong about something.
AKA: crowdsourcing, magic of the market, wisdom of the crowd, Wikipedia fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 730_lf
cryptomnesia
The tendency in which "a memory is mistaken for novel thought or imagination, because there is no subjective experience of it being a memory". An example of: misattribution of memory.
Ref: [6]
ID: 148_cb
cultural appropriation
An argument in which "those who are not of the right identity are condemned" for adopting cultural elements of a maginalized group while "forgetting the old axiom that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". See also: die away ye old forms and logic, identity fallacy, identity politics, othering.
Ref: [3]
ID: 516_lf
cum hoc ergo propter hoc
Claiming that "because two things occurr at the same time, one has caused the other". See also: coincidental correlation, false cause, false cause and effect, 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: correlation implies causation, cum hoc ergo propter hoc
Ref: [1], [2], [3], [4]
ID: 425_lf
current moment bias
A tendency "for people to have a stronger preference for more immediate payoffs relative to later payoffs".
AKA: current moment bias, hyperbolic discounting, present bias
Ref: [6]
ID: 150_cb
curse of knowledge
A tendency in whcih "better-informed people find it extremely difficult to think about problems from the perspective of lesser-informed people".
Ref: [6]
ID: 149_cb
cursing
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: 426_lf
cynicism
See also: pessimism bias.
AKA: apathetic fallacy, burnout, compassion fatigue
Ref: [3]
ID: 731_lf
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
decoy effect
A phenomenon in which "preferences for either option A or B change in favor of option B when option C is presented, which is completely dominated by option B (inferior in all respects) and partially dominated by option A". An example of: framing effect.
Ref: [6]
ID: 153_cb
default bias
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: 073_lf
default effect
A tendency "to favor the default option when given a choice between several options".
Ref: [6]
ID: 154_cb
defensive attribution hypothesis
A tendency to "attribute more blame to a harm-doer as the outcome becomes more severe or as personal or situational similarity to the victim increases".
Ref: [6]
ID: 155_cb
defensiveness
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: 074_lf
dehumanised perception
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: 151_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
denominational blinders
The "arbitrarily ignoring or waving aside without serious consideration" of "any arguments or discussion about faith, morality, ethics, spirituality, the divine or the afterlife that come from outside one's own specific religious denomination or faith tradition". See also: disciplinary blinders.
Ref: [3]
ID: 520_lf
destroying the exception
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: 533_lf
Deus vult
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, Gott mit uns, manifest destiny, special covenant
Ref: [3]
ID: 428_lf
devil quotes scripture
The use of quotations "out of context or against the clear intent of the original speaker or author". See also: eminence-based practice, falacia ad verecundiam, faulty use of authority, questionable authority, star power, testimonial.
AKA: devil quotes scripture, faulty use of quotes
Ref: [3]
ID: 734_lf
dicto 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: 429_lf
die away ye old forms and logic
A scenario in which the "validity of one's logic, evidence, experience or arguments depends not on their own strength but rather on whether the one arguing is a member of a given social class, generation, nationality, religious or ethnic group, color, gender or sexual orientation, profession, occupation or subgroup". See also: cultural appropriation.
AKA: die away ye old forms and logic, identity fallacy, identity politics
Ref: [3]
ID: 736_lf
differance
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
disciplinary blinders
See also Star Power, Two Truths. Analogous to Denominational Blinders.
Ref: [3]
ID: 076_lf
discredit by association
A fallacy of trying to argue against a point by "evoking the negative ethos" (the negative charcteristics) of the associations of the opponent (e.g., by way of their professional or social relationships, political party, religion, ethnicity, or other group or institutional memberhip). An extreme case is: for my enemies nothing.
AKA: guilt by association
Ref: [3]
ID: 915_lf
disinformation
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: 430_lf
disposition effect
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
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
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
"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: 432_lf
emotional invalidation
A fallacy of "questioning, after the fact, the reality or validity of affective [emotional] states, either another's or one's own". An example of: gaslighting.
Ref: [3]
ID: 092_lf
emotional reasoning
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: 745_lf
end-of-history illusion
A an "age-independent" tendency to "believe that one will change less in the future than one has in the past".
Ref: [6]
ID: 166_cb
endowment effect
A tendency "for people to demand much more to give up an object than they would be willing to pay to acquire it".
Ref: [6]
ID: 167_cb
epistemically closed systems
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: 746_lf
equivocation
A fallacy of "knowingly and deliberately using words in a different sense than the one the audience will understand" or "deliberately failing to define one's terms" or for "the same term...using differing meanings" or "using a word in a different way than the author used it in the original premise" or "changing definitions halfway through a discussion". A fallacy of ambiguity. Compare with: amphiboly.
Ref: [1], [2], [3]
ID: 037_lf
escalation of commitment
A tendency in which "people justify increased investment in a decision, based on the cumulative prior investment, despite new evidence suggesting that the decision was probably wrong".
AKA: escalation of commitment, irrational escalation, sunk cost fallacy
Ref: [6]
ID: 168_cb
eschatological fallacy
A fallacy that argues that "the world is coming to an end" so therefore some position is reasonable.
Ref: [3]
ID: 081_lf
esoteric knowledge
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: 082_lf
esoteric wisdom
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: 433_lf
essentializing
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.
AKA: every revolution ends up eating its own young, grit, law of unintended consequences, resilience doctrine
Ref: [3]
ID: 748_lf
everybody's a winner
A fallacy holding that "everyone is above average or extraordinary". Opposite is: all the king's men. See also: hero-busting, identity fallacy, perfect is the enemy of good.
AKA: everybody's a winner, heroes all
Ref:
ID: 434_lf
exaggerated expectation
A tendency to "expect or predict more extreme outcomes than those outcomes that actually happen".
Ref: [6]
ID: 170_cb
excluded middle
If a little is good, then more must be better. Or, if less is good, then none is better. "A corrupted argument from logos". One opposite is excluded outliers. Another opposite is middle of the road fallacy (falacia ad temperantiam, the politics of the center, marginalization of the adversary). 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 dichotomy, false dilemma
Ref: [3]
ID: 085_lf
excluded outliers
The arbitrary discarding of evidence as "weird, outliers, or atypical" if it would disprove one's point. Opposite of: excluded middle, falacia ad temperantiam, marginalization of the adversary, middle of the road fallacy, politics of the center.
Ref: [3]
ID: 528_lf
executive summary
executive summary, keep it short and simple, keep it simple stupid, KISS principle, monocausal fallacy, plain truth fallacy, salience bias, simple truth fallacyThe favoring of "familiar, singular, summarized or easily comprehensible data, examples, explanations and evidence over those that are more complex and unfamiliar but much closer to the truth". Might appear as "I don't want a whole lesson on it, just boil it down to the plain truth" or as an assertion that "the truth is always simple and only enemies of truth would make it complicated". A "fallacy of logos". Opposite of: complexity, ineffability, post-truth, truthiness.
AKA: executive summary, keep it short and simple, keep it simple stupid, KISS principle, monocausal fallacy, plain truth fallacy, salience bias, simple truth fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 749_lf
exemplary punishment
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
fair share fallacy
A mistaken belief that "the rich pay no tax". A fallacy surrounding: capitalism.
Ref: [27]
ID: 872_lf
fait accompli
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.
AKA: fait accompli, get over it, love it or leave it, suck it up, there is no alternative, TINA
Ref: [3]
ID: 529_lf
fake news
The deliberate mixing of "facts, news, falsities and outright lies with entertainment". See also: dog-whistle politics.
AKA: fake news, infotainment, infortainment, infowars
Ref: [3]
ID: 753_lf
falacia ad temperantiam
An argument that a position is correct "not on its own merits" but "solely or mainly by presenting it as the only moderate path among two or more obviously unacceptable extreme alternatives".
AKA: falacia ad temperantiam, marginalization of the adversary, middle of the road fallacy, politics of the center
Ref: [3]
ID: 754_lf
falacia ad verbosium
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.
AKA: falacia ad verbosium, information bias, snow job
Ref: [3]
ID: 755_lf
falacia ad verecundiam
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: 756_lf
fallacy of labour scarcity
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: 917_lf
fallacy of misplaced concreteness
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: 435_lf
fallacy of personal validation
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". Some say astrology is an example. A form of egocentric bias. See also: confirmation bias.
AKA: Barnum effect, fallacy of personal validation, Forer effect
Ref: [6]
ID: 726_cb
fallacy of reification
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: 027_lf
fallacy of speculation
A fallacy in which one claims to cleary understand another's thoughts, emotions, motivations, and body language based on mere speculation, at times claiming to understanding these things better than the subject himself. This speculative "knowledge" can be used in an attempt to incorrectly the support other claims. An ancient fallacy. A corruption of stasis theory (agreeing to disagree). The opposite of: autist's fallacy, mind blindness.
AKA: fallacy of speculation, mind-reading, I can read you like a book
Ref: [3]
ID: 757_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
faulty use of authority
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: 759_lf
faulty use of quotes
The use of quotations "out of context or against the clear intent of the original speaker or author". See also: eminence-based practice, falacia ad verecundiam, faulty use of authority, questionable authority, star power, testimonial.
AKA: devil quotes scripture, faulty use of quotes
Ref: [3]
ID: 531_lf
favoritism
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: blood is thicker than water, compadrismo, favoritism, for my friends anything
Ref: [3]
ID: 439_lf
financial incentive
A fallacy of obtaining a position through "gifts or favors". Often does not stick unless bribes continue. The reverse of: argumentum ad baculum, appeal to force, argument from the club (stick), argument from force, might-makes-right. See also: appeasement, assertiveness, I know my rights, squeaky wheel gets the grease.
AKA: bribery, financial incentive, material incentive, material persuasion
Ref: [3]
ID: 760_lf
find a way
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, just do it, I don't care how you do it
Ref: [3]
ID: 909_lf
finish the job
Related to Just a Job. See also Blind Loyalty, Soldiers Honor Fallacy, Argument from Inertia.
Ref: [3]
ID: 088_lf
fixed pie 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: 831_lf
focalism
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. See also: anchoring bias, attention bias, attentional bias, availability bias, availability heuristic.
Ref: [6]
ID: 903_cb
follow your heart
"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: 440_lf
for my enemies nothing
Holding that one's "real or perceived enemies are by definition always wrong and must be conceded nothing". An example of: guilt by association.
Ref: [3]
ID: 532_lf
for my friends anything
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: blood is thicker than water, compadrismo, favoritism, for my friends anything
Ref: [3]
ID: 441_lf
Fordism
The inappropriate application of "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". Some say astrology is an example. A form of egocentric bias. See also: confirmation bias.
AKA: Barnum effect, fallacy of personal validation, 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
framing effect
The tendency to "draw different conclusions from the same information, depending on how that information is presented". Examples include: contrast effect, decoy effect, default effect, denomination effect, distinction bias, domain neglect bias, context neglect bias.
Ref: [6]
ID: 183_cb
frequency illusion
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: 184_cb
functional fixedness
A tendenency "limiting a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used".
Ref: [6]
ID: 185_cb
fundamental attribution error
A tendency to assume that others' (poor) behavior results from character defects (personality) while under-emphasizing the influence of the situation on others' behavior, while, at the same time, one's own behavior is held to be due to environmental factors (situtation). A "corrupt argument from ethos". Obverse is: self debasement, self deprecation. See also: group attribution error, ultimate attribution error.
AKA: attribution error, fundamental attribution error, self justification
Ref: [3], [6]
ID: 090_cb_lf
fundamental pain bias
A tendency "for people to believe they accurately report their own pain levels while holding the paradoxical belief that others exaggerate it".
Ref: [6]
ID: 187_cb
führerprinzip
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: 442_lf
G. I. Joe fallacy
A tendency to "think that knowing about cognitive bias is enough to overcome it".
Ref: [6]
ID: 188_cb
G.E. Moore's naturalistic fallacy
A fallacy of inferring "that X is good from any proposition about X’s natural properties". Different than: "argument from nature", "the appeal to nature".
AKA: G.E. Moore's naturalistic fallacy, naturalistic fallacy
Ref: [25]
ID: 883_lf
gambler's fallacy
A tendency to "think that future probabilities are altered by past events, when in reality they are unchanged".
Ref: [6]
ID: 189_cb
gaslighting
A fallacy of "denying or invalidating a person's own knowledge and experiences by deliberately twisting or distorting known facts, memories, scenes, events and evidence in order to disorient a vulnerable opponent and to make him or her doubt his/her sanity". An example is: emotional invalidation.
Ref: [3]
ID: 091_lf
gender bias
A "set of implicit biases that discriminate against a gender". Examples: "the assumption that women are less suited to jobs requiring high intellectual ability" and "the assumption that people or animals are male in the absence of any indicators of gender".
Ref: [6]
ID: 190_cb
gender differences in eyewitness memory
A tendency "for a witness to remember more details about someone of the same gender". A memory bias.
Ref: [6]
ID: 191_cb
generation effect
A tendnecy in which "self-generated information is remembered best".
AKA: generation effect, self-generation effect
Ref: [6]
ID: 192_cb
genetic fallacy
A fallacy of claiming something as untrustworthy due to its "racial, geographic, or ethnic origin". A fallacy of relevance. Related to ad hominem, personal attack.
Ref: [1]
ID: 004_lf
get over it
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.
AKA: fait accompli, get over it, love it or leave it, suck it up, there is no alternative, TINA
Ref: [3]
ID: 534_lf
get used to 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: 762_lf
getting even
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: 763_lf
Gitmo solution
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: 681_lf
gnosticism
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: 443_lf
golden age fallacy
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
group attribution error
A tendency to believe that "the characteristics of an individual group member are reflective of the group as a whole" or to "assume that group decision outcomes reflect the preferences of group members" "even when information is available that clearly suggests otherwise". Example of: attribution bias.
Ref: [6]
ID: 195_cb
group-serving 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: 196_cb
groupshift
A tendency "for decisions to be more risk-seeking or risk-averse than the group as a whole, if the group is already biased in that direction". Example of: conformity.
Ref: [6]
ID: 197_cb
groupthink
A tendency in which "the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome" as people "try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative viewpoints by actively suppressing dissenting viewpoints, and by isolating themselves from outside influences". Example of: conformity.
Ref: [6]
ID: 198_cb
guilt by association
A fallacy of trying to argue against a point by "evoking the negative ethos" (the negative charcteristics) of the associations of the opponent (e.g., by way of their professional or social relationships, political party, religion, ethnicity, or other group or institutional memberhip). An extreme case is: for my enemies nothing.
Ref: [3]
ID: 093_lf
half truth
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: 447_lf
hard power
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: 766_lf
hard–easy effect
A tendency "to overestimate one's ability to accomplish hard tasks, and underestimate one's ability to accomplish easy tasks". Category of bias: self-assessment.
Ref: [6]
ID: 200_cb
hasty conclusion
Arriving at a snap conculsion without sufficient supporting evidence. Opposite of: paralysis of analysis. See also: jumping to conclusions.
AKA: hasty conclusions, where there's smoke there's fire
Ref: [3]
ID: 767_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
herd behavior
A tendency of "individuals in a group acting collectively without centralized direction".
Ref: [6], [24]
ID: 202_cb
hero-busting
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: 094_lf
heroes all
A fallacy holding that "everyone is above average or extraordinary". Opposite is: all the king's men. See also: hero-busting, identity fallacy, perfect is the enemy of good.
AKA: everybody's a winner, heroes all
Ref: [3]
ID: 096_lf
hey sports fans
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: 537_lf
hindsight bias
A tendency to "see past events as having been predictable".
AKA: hindsight bias, hindsight is 20/20 effect, I-knew-it-all-along effect
Ref: [6]
ID: 203_cb
hindsight is 20/20 effect
A tendency to "see past events as having been predictable".
AKA: hindsight bias, hindsight is 20/20, I-knew-it-all-along effect
Ref: [6]
ID: 205_cb
homophily
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".
AKA: hot hand, hot-hand fallacy, hot hand phenomenon
Ref: [6]
ID: 209_cb
hot stove effect
A tendency to "avoid the choice previously made when faced with the same decision problem again, even though the choice was optimal" after "experiencing a bad outcome with a decision problem".
AKA: hot stove effect, once bitten twice shy, non-adaptive choice switching
Ref: [6]
ID: 805_cb
hot-cold empathy gap
A tendency to "underestimate the influence of visceral drives on one's attitudes, preferences, and behaviors". Bias category: self-assessment.
Ref: [6]
ID: 207_cb
hot-hand fallacy
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: 210_cb
Hoyle's fallacy
The false assumption that a low-probablility event could never have happened or will never happen. An obverse: you can't win if you don't play, someone's going to win and it might as well be you.
Ref: [3]
ID: 097_lf
humanitarian crisis
Attracting public support for one side a distant crisis by invoking "in gross detail" the suffering of "the innocent, defenseless little children" while "conveniently ignoring the reality that innocent children on all sides usually suffer the most in any war, conflict, famine or crisis". A "fallacy of pathos". An example of: appeal to pity.
AKA: humanitarian crisis, save the children fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 771_lf
humor effect
A tendency for "humorous items" to be "more easily remembered than non-humorous ones". A form of: memory bias.
Ref: [6]
ID: 211_cb
hyperbole
An "immediate instance is immediately proclaimed the most significant in all of human history or the words in the whole world". See also: anchoring bias, attention bias, availability bias, catastrophizing, magnification.
Ref: [3]
ID: 538_lf
hyperbolic discounting
A tendency "for people to have a stronger preference for more immediate payoffs relative to later payoffs".
AKA: current moment bias, hyperbolic discounting, present bias
Ref: [6]
ID: 212_cb
hypostatization
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: 539_lf
I can read you like a book
A fallacy in which one claims to cleary understand another's thoughts, emotions, motivations, and body language based on mere speculation, at times claiming to understanding these things better than the subject himself. This speculative "knowledge" can be used in an attempt to incorrectly the support other claims. An ancient fallacy. A corruption of stasis theory (agreeing to disagree). The opposite of: autist's fallacy, mind blindness.
AKA: fallacy of speculation, mind-reading, I can read you like a book
Ref: [3]
ID: 678_lf
I do it too
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: 682_lf
I don't care how you 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, just do it
Ref: [3]
ID: 683_lf
I don't want to hear it
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: 370_lf
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: 685_lf
I know my rights
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: 449_lf
I think we're alone now
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: 687_lf
I wish I had a magic wand
Falsely proclaiming oneself to be unfortunately "powerless to change a bad or objectionable situation" over which one actually does have power (for example, by ignoring various real possibilities). See also: there is no alternative, TINA.
Ref: [3]
ID: 492_lf
I'm trying my best
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: 688_lf
I've got to do what I've 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, I've got to do what I've got to do
Ref: [3]
ID: 912_lf
I-knew-it-all-along effect
A tendency to "see past events as having been predictable".
AKA: hindsight bias, hindsight is 20/20, I-knew-it-all-along effect
Ref: [6]
ID: 204_cb
iconoclastic fallacy
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.
AKA: brave heretic, conspiracy theories, iconoclastic fallacy, romantic rebel, truthout fallacy, truthdig fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 772_lf
identity fallacy
A scenario in which the "validity of one's logic, evidence, experience or arguments depends not on their own strength but rather on whether the one arguing is a member of a given social class, generation, nationality, religious or ethnic group, color, gender or sexual orientation, profession, occupation or subgroup". See also: cultural appropriation.
AKA: die away ye old forms and logic, identity fallacy, identity politics
Ref: [3]
ID: 540_lf
identity politics
A scenario in which the "validity of one's logic, evidence, experience or arguments depends not on their own strength but rather on whether the one arguing is a member of a given social class, generation, nationality, religious or ethnic group, color, gender or sexual orientation, profession, occupation or subgroup". See also: cultural appropriation.
AKA: die away ye old forms and logic, identity fallacy, identity politics
Ref: [3]
ID: 773_lf
if it ain't broke don't fix 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: 774_lf
ignorantio elenchi
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: 450_lf
ignoring qualifications
Literally, "secundum quid" means "according to something", and "secundum quid et simpliciter" means "what is true in a certain respect and what is true absolutely". A common type of "secundum quid" is: accident ("a dicto simpliciter ad dictum secundum quid"), in which a general rule is applied to an edge case that is actually an exception to the rule. Another common type of "secundum quid" is: converse accident ("a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter"), in which "a rule that applies only to an exceptional case is wrongly applied to all cases in general". See also: a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter, converse accident, destroying the exception, dicto simpliciter, hasty generalization, jumping to conclusions, reverse accident.
AKA: ignoring qualifications, secundum quid, secundum quid et simpliciter, sweeping generalization
Ref: [1], [2], [31], [32]
ID: 742_lf
ignoring the issue
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: 451_lf
IKEA effect
A tendency "for people to place a disproportionately high value on objects that they partially assembled themselves". An example of: effort justification. Bias category: cognitive dissonance.
Ref: [6]
ID: 214_cb
illusion of asymmetric insight
A tendency to "perceive [that] their knowledge of their peers" exceeds "their peers' knowledge of them".
Ref: [6]
ID: 215_cb
illusion of control
A tendency to "overestimate one's degree of influence over other external events".
Ref: [6]
ID: 216_cb
illusion of explanatory depth
A tendency to "believe that one understands a topic much better than one actually does".
Ref: [6]
ID: 217_cb
illusion of transparency
A tendency "to overestimate the degree to which their personal mental state is known by others, and to overestimate how well they understand others' personal mental states".
Ref: [6]
ID: 218_cb
illusion of validity
A tendency "to overestimate the accuracy of one's judgments, especially when available information is consistent or inter-correlated".
Ref: [6]
ID: 219_cb
illusion-of-truth effect
A tendency to "identify as true statements" ones that people "have previously heard (even if they cannot consciously remember having heard them), regardless of the actual validity of the statement."
AKA: illusion-of-truth effect, illusory truth effect
Ref: [6]
ID: 813_cb
illusory correlation
A tendency to inaccurately see "a relationship between two events related by coincidence".
Ref: [6]
ID: 220_cb
illusory superiority
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: 221_cb
illusory truth effect
A tendency to "identify as true statements" ones that people "have previously heard (even if they cannot consciously remember having heard them), regardless of the actual validity of the statement."
AKA: illusion-of-truth effect, illusory truth effect
Ref: [6]
ID: 222_cb
implicit association
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
impostor syndrome
A tendency in which "an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud".
Ref: [6]
ID: 224_cb
in-group 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: 225_cb
in-group favoritism
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: 186_cb
in-group preference
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: 717_cb
in-group-out-group 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: 715_cb
incomplete information
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: 775_lf
ineffability
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
information cascade
A fallacy in which one echoes others' opinions (often online), even when their own opinions or information exposure contradicts that position.
Ref: [3]
ID: 542_lf
information pollution
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: 452_lf
infortainment
The deliberate mixing of "facts, news, falsities and outright lies with entertainment". See also: dog-whistle politics.
AKA: fake news, infotainment, infortainment, infowars
Ref: [3]
ID: 776_lf
infotainment
The deliberate mixing of "facts, news, falsities and outright lies with entertainment". See also: dog-whistle politics.
AKA: fake news, infotainment, infortainment, infowars
Ref: [3]
ID: 543_lf
infowars
The deliberate mixing of "facts, news, falsities and outright lies with entertainment". See also: dog-whistle politics.
AKA: fake news, infotainment, infortainment, infowars
Ref: [3]
ID: 777_lf
ingroup bias
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
interoceptive bias or hungry judge effect
A tendency "for sensory input about the body itself to affect one's judgement about external, unrelated circumstances".
Ref: [6]
ID: 230_cb
irrational escalation
A tendency in which "people justify increased investment in a decision, based on the cumulative prior investment, despite new evidence suggesting that the decision was probably wrong".
AKA: escalation of commitment, irrational escalation, sunk cost fallacy
Ref: [6]
ID: 231_cb_lf
irrelevant conclusion
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: 014_lf
it does not follow
An "argument that does not follow from the previous statements"; "using a premise to prove an unrelated point"; "conclusions that have no logical connection to the argument at hand". Often, a writer may have left out a step of an argument they had in their head but did not put on paper. While "applicable in general to any type of logical fallacy", often used by logicials specifically to reference "syllogistic errors such as the undistributed middle term, non causa pro causa, and ignorantio elenchi". A component fallacy. Common examples are: affirming the consequent, denying the antecedent.
AKA: it does not follow, non sequitur
Ref: [1], [2], [3], [4]
ID: 455_lf
it is what it is
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: 544_lf
Job's comforter fallacy
An argument that there is no random chance, and that one's own misfortunes must be punishment for sins or wickedness. Opposite of: appeal to heaven. See also: magical thinking.
AKA: Job's comforter fallacy, karma is a bi**h, what goes around comes around
Ref: [3]
ID: 493_lf
judenrein
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: 778_lf
judicial 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: 875_lf
jumping to conclusions
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
just-world hypothesis
A tendency to "want to believe that the world is fundamentally just, causing them to rationalize an otherwise inexplicable injustice as deserved by the victim(s)".
Ref: [6]
ID: 232_cb
karma is a bi**h
An argument that there is no random chance, and that one's own misfortunes must be punishment for sins or wickedness. Opposite of: appeal to heaven. See also: magical thinking.
AKA: Job's comforter fallacy, karma is a bi**h, what goes around comes around
Ref: [3]
ID: 781_lf
keep it short and simple
The favoring of "familiar, singular, summarized or easily comprehensible data, examples, explanations and evidence over those that are more complex and unfamiliar but much closer to the truth". Might appear as "I don't want a whole lesson on it, just boil it down to the plain truth" or as an assertion that "the truth is always simple and only enemies of truth would make it complicated". A "fallacy of logos". Opposite of: complexity, ineffability, post-truth, truthiness.
AKA: executive summary, keep it short and simple, keep it simple stupid, KISS principle, monocausal fallacy, plain truth fallacy, salience bias, simple truth fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 782_lf
keep it simple stupid
The favoring of "familiar, singular, summarized or easily comprehensible data, examples, explanations and evidence over those that are more complex and unfamiliar but much closer to the truth". Might appear as "I don't want a whole lesson on it, just boil it down to the plain truth" or as an assertion that "the truth is always simple and only enemies of truth would make it complicated". A "fallacy of logos". Opposite of: complexity, ineffability, post-truth, truthiness.
AKA: executive summary, keep it short and simple, keep it simple stupid, KISS principle, monocausal fallacy, plain truth fallacy, salience bias, simple truth fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 783_lf
keeping up standards
The inappropriate application of "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: 784_lf
KISS principle
The favoring of "familiar, singular, summarized or easily comprehensible data, examples, explanations and evidence over those that are more complex and unfamiliar but much closer to the truth". Might appear as "I don't want a whole lesson on it, just boil it down to the plain truth" or as an assertion that "the truth is always simple and only enemies of truth would make it complicated". A "fallacy of logos". Opposite of: complexity, ineffability, post-truth, truthiness.
AKA: executive summary, keep it short and simple, keep it simple stupid, KISS principle, monocausal fallacy, plain truth fallacy, salience bias, simple truth fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 689_lf
lag effect
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_
law of the instrument
A tendency toward "over-reliance on a familiar tool or methods, ignoring or under-valuing alternative approaches".
Ref: [6]
ID: 235_cb
law of unintended consequences
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: 549_lf
leading the witness fallacy
A fallacy in which "a sham, sarcastic or biased question is asked solely in order to evoke a desired answer". See also: draw your own conclusion fallacy, let the facts speak for themselves, non-argument argument.
Ref: [3]
ID: 550_lf
less-is-better effect
A tendency to "prefer a smaller set to a larger set judged separately, but not jointly".
Ref: [6]
ID: 236_cb
let it be let it be
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: 787_lf
let the facts speak for themselves
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: 457_lf
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.
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: 525_lf
locker-room 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, bad-boy talk
Ref: [3]
ID: 552_lf
long ago and far away
A holding that "facts, evidence, practices or arguments from ancient times, distant lands and/or exotic cultures seem to acquire a special gravitas or ethos simply because of their antiquity, language or origin". An example of: argument from mystery, argumentum ad mysteriam, mystagogy. See also: esoteric knowledge, standard version fallacy.
Ref: [3]
ID: 553_lf
loose lips
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: 791_lf
loss aversion
A tendency in which "the perceived disutility of giving up an object is greater than the utility associated with acquiring it".
Ref: [6]
ID: 241_cb
lost cause
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: 792_lf
love bombing
The use of positive affirmations to gain favor, especially with the anticipation that continued affection will continue if the recipient agrees with something or takes some action.
Ref: [3]
ID: 554_lf
love it or leave it
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.
AKA: fait accompli, get over it, love it or leave it, suck it up, there is no alternative, TINA
Ref: [3]
ID: 555_lf
lump of jobs 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: 918_lf
lying with statistics
The misuse of "true figures and numbers" to claim to prove "unrelated claims". Examples include: tiny percentage fallacy. See also: half-truth, red herring, snow job.
Ref: [3]
ID: 556_lf
mad leader disease
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: 459_lf
magic of the market
The idea that the market or the crowd is infallible, ignoring historical examples of the majority having been wrong about something.
AKA: crowdsourcing, magic of the market, wisdom of the crowd, Wikipedia fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 793_lf
magical thinking
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: 557_lf
making one's peace with the situation
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: 794_lf
mala fides
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: 559_lf
manifest destiny
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
mansplaining
A tendency in which "many men to always have to be the smartest person in the room, regardless of the topic of discussion and how much they actually know". A form of: explanation. See also: plain truth fallacy, snow job.
Ref: [3]
ID: 560_lf
marginalization of the adversary
An argument that a position is correct "not on its own merits" but "solely or mainly by presenting it as the only moderate path among two or more obviously unacceptable extreme alternatives".
AKA: falacia ad temperantiam, marginalization of the adversary, middle of the road fallacy, politics of the center
Ref: [3]
ID: 796_lf
material incentive
A fallacy of obtaining a position through "gifts or favors". Often does not stick unless bribes continue. The reverse of: argumentum ad baculum, appeal to force, argument from the club (stick), argument from force, might-makes-right. See also: appeasement, assertiveness, I know my rights, squeaky wheel gets the grease.
AKA: bribery, financial incentive, material incentive, material persuasion
Ref: [3]
ID: 797_lf
material persuasion
A fallacy of obtaining a position through "gifts or favors". Often does not stick unless bribes continue. The reverse of: argumentum ad baculum, appeal to force, argument from the club (stick), argument from force, might-makes-right. See also: appeasement, assertiveness, I know my rights, squeaky wheel gets the grease.
AKA: bribery, financial incentive, material incentive, material persuasion
Ref: [3]
ID: 798_lf
measurability
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
memory inhibition
A tendency in which "being shown some items from a list makes it harder to retrieve the other items".
Ref: [6]
ID: 243_cb
mere exposure effect
A tendency to "express undue liking for things merely because of familiarity with them".
AKA: familiarity principle, mere exposure principle
Ref: [6]
ID: 244_cb
mereological fallacy
Applying an agreed-upon generalization to "all particular cases". A "fallacy of logos". Literally, "totus pro partes" means "whole for parts", and refers to extrapolating from one or two example cases to a claim about all cases. The term "mereological" refers to the study of the relationship between parts and a wholes.) See also: hasty generalization, pars pro toto fallacy.
AKA: overgeneralization, totus pro partes, mereological fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 799_lf
middle of the road fallacy
An argument that a position is correct "not on its own merits" but "solely or mainly by presenting it as the only moderate path among two or more obviously unacceptable extreme alternatives".
AKA: falacia ad temperantiam, marginalization of the adversary, middle of the road fallacy, politics of the center
Ref: [3]
ID: 562_lf
might-makes-right
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:
ID: 461_lf
mind blindness
A fallacy in which normal human capacity for "theory of mind" is entirely denied in which it is held that no one can truly understand or know "another's thoughts, emotions, motivations or intents". The opposite of: mind-reading.
AKA: autist's fallacy, mind blindness
Ref: [3]
ID: 564_lf
mind your own business
A fallacy of preventing discussion of one's point by "drawing a phony curtain 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: 800_lf
mind-reading
A fallacy in which one claims to cleary understand another's thoughts, emotions, motivations, and body language based on mere speculation, at times claiming to understanding these things better than the subject himself. This speculative "knowledge" can be used in an attempt to incorrectly the support other claims. An ancient fallacy. A corruption of stasis theory (agreeing to disagree). The opposite of: autist's fallacy, mind blindness.
Ref: [3]
ID: 566_lf
misattribution of memory
A tendency for a person recalling a memory to misidentify the origin of the memory. Examples include: cryptomnesia, false memory, social crytomnesia, source confusion, suggestibility, Perky effect.
Ref: [6]
ID: 245_cb
misinformation effect
The tendency for an "original memory" to be "affected by incorrect information received later" ("a person's recall of episodic memories becomes less accurate because of post-event information").
Ref: [6], [18]
ID: 246_cb
missing link
See also: appeal to a lack of evidence, appeal to ignorance, argumentum ad ignorantiam, argument from ignorance.
Ref: [3]
ID: 056_lf
missing link fallacy
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: 801_lf
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
money illusion
A tendency to "concentrate on the nominal value (face value) of money rather than its value in terms of purchasing power".
Ref: [6]
ID: 248_cb
monocausal fallacy
The favoring of "familiar, singular, summarized or easily comprehensible data, examples, explanations and evidence over those that are more complex and unfamiliar but much closer to the truth". Might appear as "I don't want a whole lesson on it, just boil it down to the plain truth" or as an assertion that "the truth is always simple and only enemies of truth would make it complicated". A "fallacy of logos". Opposite of: complexity, ineffability, post-truth, truthiness.
AKA: executive summary, keep it short and simple, keep it simple stupid, KISS principle, monocausal fallacy, plain truth fallacy, salience bias, simple truth fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 803_lf
monolingual fallacy
An incorrect assumption that "transparent, in-depth translation between languages is the norm", thus ignoring "everyday issues of translation". See also: standard version fallacy.
Ref: [3]
ID: 567_lf
mood-congruent memory bias
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: 249_cb
moral credential effect
A tendency in which "someone who does something good" then "gives themselves permission to be less good in the future".
Ref: [6]
ID: 251_cb
moral high ground
An argument that "evil has no rights" that must be respected by "the good and the righteous", in direct denial of the "golden rule". See also: appeal to heaven, moving the goalposts.
AKA: moral high ground, moral superiority, self righteousness
Ref: [3]
ID: 568_lf
moral licensing
An argument that one's "consistently moral life, good behavior or recent extreme suffering or sacrifice earns him/her the right to commit an immoral act without repercussions, consequences or punishment". Opposite of: scruples.
Ref: [3]
ID: 569_lf
moral luck
A tendency "to ascribe greater or lesser moral standing based on the outcome of an event".
Ref: [6]
ID: 252_cb
moral superiority
An argument that "evil has no rights" that must be respected by "the good and the righteous", in direct denial of the "golden rule". See also: appeal to heaven, moving the goalposts.
AKA: moral high ground, moral superiority, self righteousness
Ref: [3]
ID: 570_lf
mortification
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: 571_lf
motivated 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: 462_lf
motivational truth
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: 572_lf
motte and bailey doctrine
A fallacy of conflating two similar positions, one easier to defend and one much more controversial and harder to defend, in which the arguer "advances the controversial position, but when challenged, insists that only the more modest position is being advanced", then claims that the more controversial position has not been refuted. Ain informal fallacy.
AKA: motte and bailey doctrine, motte and bailey fallacy
Ref: [5]
ID: 371_lf
motte and bailey fallacy
A fallacy of conflating two similar positions, one easier to defend and one much more controversial and harder to defend, in which the arguer "advances the controversial position, but when challenged, insists that only the more modest position is being advanced", then claims that the more controversial position has not been refuted. Ain informal fallacy.
AKA: motte and bailey doctrine, motte and bailey fallacy
Ref: [5]
ID: 095_lf
moving the ball down the field
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: 573_lf
moving the goalposts
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, nuclear option, winning isn't everything it's the only thing
Ref: [3]
ID: 574_lf
muscular foreign policy
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.
AKA: control voice, muscular foreign policy, no discussion, no negotiation, peace through strength
Ref: [3]
ID: 530_lf
muscular leadership
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: 806_lf
MYOB
A fallacy of preventing discussion of one's point by "drawing a phony curtain 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: 565_lf
myside 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: 463_lf
mystagogy
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: 807_lf
naive cynicism
A tendency to expect "more egocentric bias in others than in oneself".
Ref: [6]
ID: 253_cb
naive realism
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
name-calling
An argument that simply because the proponent of a position is or is alleged to be problematic because of a label applied to them, then therefore any argument of theirs is invalid due to that label alone. Instead exploring actual points, the application of a label ends or prevents any actual argument. A form of: ad hominem. An example is: newspeak. See also: ad hominem argument, alphabet soup, reductionism.
Ref: [3]
ID: 576_lf
narrative fallacy
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: 577_lf
naturalistic fallacy
A fallacy of inferring "that X is good from any proposition about X’s natural properties". Different than: "argument from nature", "the appeal to nature".
AKA: G.E. Moore's naturalistic fallacy, naturalistic fallacy
Ref: [25]
ID: 901_lf
need to know
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: 464_lf
negativity bias
A tendency in which some people "have a greater recall of unpleasant memories compared with positive memories".
AKA: negativity effect, negativity effect
Ref: [6]
ID: 255_cb
negativity effect
A tendency in which some people "have a greater recall of unpleasant memories compared with positive memories".
AKA: negativity effect, negativity effect
Ref: [6]
ID: 256_cb
neglect of probability
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
nihilism
The blind rejection of "what exists in favor of what could be"; an "adolescent fantasy of romanticizing anarchy, chaos..., disorder, permanent revolution, or change for change's sake". Opposite of: default bias.
Ref: [3]
ID: 579_lf
NIMBY
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: 526_lf
nirvana fallacy
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: 808_lf
no discussion
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.
AKA: control voice, muscular foreign policy, no discussion, no negotiation, peace through strength
Ref: [3]
ID: 580_lf
no negotiation
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.
AKA: control voice, muscular foreign policy, no discussion, no negotiation, peace through strength
Ref: [3]
ID: 809_lf
no pain no gain
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: 581_lf
noble 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: 810_lf
nobody will ever know
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: 582_lf
non causa pro causa
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: 240_lf
non sequitur
An "argument that does not follow from the previous statements"; "using a premise to prove an unrelated point"; "conclusions that have no logical connection to the argument at hand". Often, a writer may have left out a step of an argument they had in their head but did not put on paper. While "applicable in general to any type of logical fallacy", often used by logicials specifically to reference "syllogistic errors such as the undistributed middle term, non causa pro causa, and ignorantio elenchi". A component fallacy. Common examples are: affirming the consequent, denying the antecedent.
AKA: it does not follow, non sequitur
Ref: [1], [2], [3], [4]
ID: 016_lf
non-adaptive choice switching
A tendency to "avoid the choice previously made when faced with the same decision problem again, even though the choice was optimal" after "experiencing a bad outcome with a decision problem".
AKA: hot stove effect, once bitten twice shy, non-adaptive choice switching
Ref: [6]
ID: 259_cb
non-argument argument
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: 465_lf
non-negotiable demands
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: 811_lf
non-recognition
A choice "not to publicly recognize ground truth", typically with the idea that "this would somehow reward evil-doers" by recognizing "their deeds as real or consequential". See also: political correctness, pout, state actor fallacy. Not to be confused with: no negotiation.
Ref: [3]
ID: 583_lf
noncooperation
The arbitrary rejection of dialogue "before it is concluded". A from of: argumentum ad baculum. See also: no discussion, non-recognition.
AKA: noncooperation, nonviolent civil disobedience, pout, silent treatment
Ref: [3]
ID: 812_lf
none of yer beeswax
A fallacy of preventing discussion of one's point by "drawing a phony curtain 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: 814_lf
nonviolent civil disobedience
The arbitrary rejection of dialogue "before it is concluded". A from of: argumentum ad baculum. See also: no discussion, non-recognition.
AKA: noncooperation, nonviolent civil disobedience, pout, silent treatment
Ref: [3]
ID: 815_lf
normalcy bias
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 compelled 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
The marginalization of opponents based on false allegations of odor, poor hygeine, imagined diseases, or dirtiness. A "fallacy of pathos". See also: othering.
AKA: olfactory rhetoric, the nose knows
Ref: [3]
ID: 588_lf
omission bias
A tendency to "judge harmful actions (commissions) as worse, or less moral, than equally harmful inactions (omissions)".
Ref: [6]
ID: 265_cb
once bitten twice shy
A tendency to "avoid the choice previously made when faced with the same decision problem again, even though the choice was optimal" after "experiencing a bad outcome with a decision problem".
AKA: hot stove effect, once bitten twice shy, non-adaptive choice switching
Ref: [6]
ID: 804_cb
oops
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: 589_lf
optimism bias
A tendency "to be over-optimistic, underestimating greatly the probability of undesirable outcomes and overestimating favorable and pleasing outcomes". Opposite of: pessimism bias. See also: positive outcome bias, valence effect, wishful thinking.
Ref: [6]
ID: 266_cb
ostrich strategy
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: 820_lf
othering
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: 590_lf
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
overexplanation
A phenomenon in which, in reality, "beyond a certian point, more explanation, instructions, data, discussion, evidence, or proof inevitably results in less, not more, understanding." A "fallacy of logos". See also: plain truth, snow job.
Ref: [3]
ID: 591_lf
overgeneralization
Applying an agreed-upon generalization to "all particular cases". A "fallacy of logos". Literally, "totus pro partes" means "whole for parts", and refers to extrapolating from one or two example cases to a claim about all cases. The term "mereological" refers to the study of the relationship between parts and a wholes.) See also: hasty generalization, pars pro toto fallacy.
AKA: overgeneralization, totus pro partes, mereological fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 592_lf
oversimplifying
Deceipt through "simple answers or bumper-sticker slogans in response to complex questions". See also: dog-whistle politics, plain truth fallacy.
AKA: oversimplifying, sloganeering, reductionism
Ref: [3]
ID: 822_lf
panic
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
paternalism
This dismissal of an argument as childish or immature, usually with a "condescending attitude of superiority toward opposing standpoints or toward opponents themselves". A "fallacy of ethos".
Ref: [3]
ID: 597_lf
pathetic 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: 824_lf
peace through strength
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.
AKA: control voice, muscular foreign policy, no discussion, no negotiation, peace through strength
Ref: [3]
ID: 825_lf
peak–end rule
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
personalization
Seeing oneself or someone else as "the essential cause of some external event" for which that "person had no responsibilty".
Ref: [3]
ID: 598_lf
pessimism bias
A tendency "for some people...to overestimate the likelihood of negative things happening to them". See also: cynicism. Opposite of: optimism bias.
Ref: [6]
ID: 276_cb
petitio principii
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: 467_lf
picture superiority effect
A tendency in which "concepts that are learned by viewing pictures are more easily and frequently recalled than are concepts that are learned by viewing their written word form counterparts."
Ref: [6]
ID: 277_cb
placebo effect
The position that when there is a problem or disconcert, then doing anything is beter than doing nothing, even if that action might seem illogical.
AKA: placebo effect, political theater, security theater, we have to do something, we have to send a message
Ref: [3]
ID: 827_lf
placement bias
A tendency to "remember ourselves to be better than others at tasks at which we rate ourselves above average" and "to remember ourselves to be worse than others at tasks at which we rate ourselves below average". See also: better-than-average effect, illusory superiority, worse-than-average effect.
Ref: [6]
ID: 278_cb
plain truth fallacy
The favoring of "familiar, singular, summarized or easily comprehensible data, examples, explanations and evidence over those that are more complex and unfamiliar but much closer to the truth". Might appear as "I don't want a whole lesson on it, just boil it down to the plain truth" or as an assertion that "the truth is always simple and only enemies of truth would make it complicated". A "fallacy of logos". Opposite of: complexity, ineffability, post-truth, truthiness.
AKA: executive summary, keep it short and simple, keep it simple stupid, KISS principle, monocausal fallacy, plain truth fallacy, salience bias, simple truth fallacy
Ref: [3]
ID: 599_lf
plan continuation bias
A tendency to fail to "recognize that the original plan of action is no longer appropriate for a changing situation or for a situation that is different from anticipated".
Ref: [6]
ID: 279_cb_lf
planning fallacy
A tendency "for people to underestimate the time it will take them to complete a given task".
Ref: [6]
ID: 280_cb
plant blindness
A tendency for people "to ignore plants in their environment" and "a failure to recognize and appreciate the utility of plants to life on earth".
Ref: [6]
ID: 281_cb
plausible deniability
A secenario in which "someone in power forces those under his or her control to do some questionable or evil act and to then falsely assume or conceal responsibility for that act in order to protect the ethos of the one in command". A "fallacy of ethos".
Ref: [3]
ID: 600_lf
playing on emotion
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: 601_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
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: 468_lf
political correctness
The that the nature of a thing or scenario can be changed by changing its name. SEe also: language control, non-recognition, venting.
Ref: [3]
ID: 603_lf
political theater
The position that when there is a problem or disconcert, then doing anything is beter than doing nothing, even if that action might seem illogical.
AKA: placebo effect, political theater, security theater, we have to do something, we have to send a message
Ref: [3]
ID: 830_lf
Pollyanna principle
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".
AKA: Pollyanna principle, projection bias, singing kumbaya, they're just like us
Ref: [3]
ID: 604_lf
positive outcome bias
A tendency in which people "overestimate the probability of good things happening to them". See also: optimism bias.
Ref: [6], [28]
ID: 282_cb
positive thinking fallacy
The position that objective reality will become cha