10 types of arguments that you do not want to get yourself into

1) Ad hominem (Latin for 'to the person') - short for 'argumentum ad hominem', is a logical fallacy in which an argument is rebutted by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, or persons associated with the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument itself.

(ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem)

2) Ignoratio elenchi - also known as irrelevant conclusion, is the informal fallacy of presenting an argument that may or may not be logically valid, but fails nonetheless to address the issue in question. More colloquially, it is also known as missing the point. According to Aristotle, ignoratio elenchi a fallacy which arises from "ignorance of the nature of refutation"

(ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignoratio_elenchi)

3) Genetic fallacy - (also known as the fallacy of origins or fallacy of virtue) is a fallacy of irrelevance where a conclusion is suggested based solely on someone's or something's history, origin, or source rather than its current meaning or context. This overlooks any difference to be found in the present situation, typically transferring the positive or negative esteem from the earlier context.

(ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_fallacy)

4) Association fallacy - is an informal inductive fallacy of the hasty-generalization or red-herring type and which asserts, by irrelevant association and often by appeal to emotion, that qualities of one thing are inherently qualities of another. Two types of association fallacies are sometimes referred to as guilt by association and honor by association. Example: John is a con artist. John has black hair. Therefore, all people with black hair are con artists.

(ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_fallacy)

5) Argument from authority - An argument from authority (Latin: argumentum ad verecundiam), also called an appeal to authority, is a common type of argument which can be fallacious, such as when an authority is cited on a topic outside their area of expertise or when the authority cited is not a true expert. Fallacious arguments from authority can also be the result of citing a non-authority as an authority

(ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority)

6) Argumentum ad lapidem - is a logical fallacy that consists in dismissing a statement as absurd without giving proof of its absurdity. Ad lapidem statements are fallacious because they fail to address the merits of the claim in dispute. Example:

Speaker A: Infectious diseases are caused by microbes.
Speaker B: What a ridiculous idea!
Speaker A: How so?
Speaker B: It's obviously ridiculous.

Speaker B gives no evidence or reasoning, and when pressed, claims that Speaker A's statement is inherently absurd, thus applying the fallacy.

(ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_lapidem)

7) Straw man argument - a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while actually refuting an argument that was not advanced by that opponent. The so-called typical "attacking a straw man" argument creates the illusion of having completely refuted or defeated an opponent's proposition by covertly replacing it with a different proposition and then refuting that false argument instead of the original proposition.

(ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man)

8) Paradox - a statement that, despite apparently sound reasoning from true premises, leads to a self-contradictory or a logically unacceptable conclusion. Some logical paradoxes are known to be invalid arguments but are still valuable in promoting critical thinking.

(ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox)

9) Hasty generalization - an informal fallacy of faulty generalization by reaching an inductive generalization based on insufficient evidence essentially making a hasty conclusion without considering all of the variables. In statistics, it may involve basing broad conclusions regarding the statistics of a survey from a small sample group that fails to sufficiently represent an entire population.

(ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasty_generalization)

10) Fallacy - an incorrect argument in logic and rhetoric which undermines an argument's logical validity or more generally an argument's logical soundness. Fallacies are either formal fallacies or informal fallacies. These are commonly used styles of argument in convincing people, where the focus is on communication and results rather than the correctness of the logic, and may be used whether the point being advanced is correct or not.

(ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies)


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