Shortlist · 30 fallacies

Common Logical Fallacies

These are the logical fallacies you are most likely to come across — in a conversation, a business agreement, a heated discussion, or an educational setting. They show up far more often than the rest, so they're the ones worth learning to spot first.

Each links to a full explanation with examples. Once these feel familiar, browse the complete formal and informal lists for the rarer ones.

The common fallacies

30

Ranked as the ones you'll actually run into most often.

Ad HominemAttacking the person making a claim instead of the claim itself. AmbiguityExploiting a word or phrase that carries more than one meaning. AnecdotalLeaning on a personal story in place of solid evidence. Appeal to AuthorityTreating a claim as true just because an authority asserts it. Appeal to EmotionSwaying with feelings instead of offering a valid argument. Appeal to NatureArguing something is good or right because it is natural. BandwagonAdopting a belief mainly because everyone else has. Begging the QuestionAssuming the very conclusion inside the argument's premises. Burden of ProofDemanding others disprove a claim you never proved. Circular ReasoningSupporting a claim by restating the claim itself. EquivocationShifting a word's meaning partway through the argument. Etymological FallacyInsisting a word must mean what it originally meant. Fallacy FallacyConcluding a claim is false because its argument was flawed. Fallacy of Composition and DivisionAssuming the parts and the whole share the same traits. False Cause & False AttributionMistaking correlation, or the wrong source, for the real cause. False DilemmaPresenting only two options when more actually exist. Faulty GeneralizationDrawing a broad conclusion from too few examples. Gambler's FallacyBelieving past chance events change the odds of future ones. Genetic FallacyJudging a claim by its origin rather than its merit. Loaded QuestionAsking a question that smuggles in an unproven assumption. Middle GroundAssuming the truth must lie between two opposing positions. No True ScotsmanRedefining a group on the fly to dodge a counterexample. Personal IncredulityRejecting a claim because you find it hard to imagine. Red HerringDiverting attention with something irrelevant to the issue. Slippery SlopeClaiming one small step leads inevitably to extremes. Special PleadingApplying the rules to others while exempting yourself. StrawmanDistorting an argument to make it easier to knock down. Sunk Cost FallacyContinuing something only because of what you've already put in. Texas SharpshooterCherry-picking data to fit a pattern after the fact. Tu QuoqueDeflecting criticism by pointing to the critic's hypocrisy.