Rhetoric & Language

Attacking an opponent's character or personal traits in an attempt to undermine their argument.

Using anecdotal evidence—informal testimony or personal experiences—as if it were sufficient proof for a general claim.

An assertion is deemed true or false based on the accomplishments of the proposer. This may often also have elements of appeal to emotion.

A logical fallacy that manipulates feelings — fear, pity, pride — in place of a valid argument. Persuasive, but not evidence.

Takes something for granted because it would \*probably\* be the case (or might be the case).

The fallacy of concluding something is true (or false) based on the absence of evidence, rather than the presence of it. Silence is not proof.

The formal fallacy of analyzing an argument and inferring that, since it contains a fallacy, its conclusion must be false.

Arguing that, because something is so incredible or amazing, it must be the result of superior, divine, alien or paranormal agency.

A fallacy in which one prematurely claims that an idea or proposal is correct or superior, exclusively because it is new and modern.

The tendency to attribute greater accuracy and authority to the opinion of an authority figure and be more influenced by that opinion. The 1961 Milgram experiment in 1961 is widely cited as evidence of this bias (though this study has more recently been called into question).

A sorrowful lament or toast for someone who is alive, but who has gone away or is dearly missed.

The unintended consequence of trying to persuade someone of something only to result in opposite position being adopted instead.

A non-arbitrary mapping between speech sounds and visual shapes — rounded shapes tend to be associated with soft-sounding words like "bouba," while jagged shapes are matched with sharp-sounding words like "kiki" — observed across languages and cultures.

Decision-makers are limited in their rationality by the cognitive limitations of their minds (experience, logic), the time available to make a given decision, and the tractability of the decision problem itself (deciding the right thing at all). They are looking for a satisfactory solution rather than an optimal one. From Herbert A. Simon.

A formal fallacy that occurs when it is assumed that specific conditions are more probable than a single general one.

Learning "facts" about an event that later turn out to be false or unfounded, yet the discredited information continues to influence reasoning and understanding even after one has been corrected.

The fallacy of dismissing a valid distinction just because the boundary between two categories is blurry. The existence of gray doesn't disprove black and white.

Dismissing a criticism by claiming that the critic lacks sufficient knowledge, credentials, or training to credibly comment on the subject matter.

Changing the meaning of a word to deal with an objection raised against the original wording.

An idiosyncratic substitution of a word or phrase for a word or words that sound similar or identical in the speaker's dialect. The new phrase introduces a meaning that is different from the original but plausible in the same context, such as "old-timers' disease" for "Alzheimer's disease".

Putting effort into something that goes unnoticed or unappreciated — like heating a room with the windows wide open, where only the crows outside benefit.

The quality of extreme vividness, radiance or present-ness (Greek ἐνεργής; "visible", "manifest"). In rhetoric, a description so vivid it seems to conjure its subject into existence; so powerful it evokes the (unbearable) brightness of being. [

An informal fallacy resulting from the use of a particular word/expression in multiple senses throughout an argument leading to a false conclusion.

French term ("staircase wit") describing the feeling one has when thinking of the perfect reply — but a moment too late when one is already headed away from the moment.

The mistaken assumption that a word's original or historical meaning determines its correct present-day usage.

An ambiguity that arises when the meaning of a sentence is changed by placing an unusual prosodic stress, or when, in a written passage, it's left unclear which word the emphasis was supposed to fall on.

The fallacy of assuming that something true of a thing must also be true of all or some of its parts.

A logical fallacy where two things are compared as if they're alike in a relevant way, when in fact the similarities are superficial and the comparison breaks down.

An appeal to an irrelevant, unqualified, unidentified, biased or fabricated source in support of an argument.

Citing someone as an expert on a topic outside their actual area of expertise, or relying on a single opinion to lend unwarranted credibility to a claim.

An informal fallacy which asserts that the truth of an argument must be found as a compromise between two opposite positions.

A logical error where a broad rule is inferred from too few examples or unrepresentative evidence. One bad experience doesn't define the whole.

A disinformation strategy used in sales, marketing, public relations, politics and propaganda, where one is trying to influence perception by disseminating negative and dubious or false information and a manifestation of the appeal to fear.

The intuitive, almost tactile sense that lets someone make quick, effective decisions without conscious analysis. The kind of expertise you can feel but can't easily explain.

A set of concepts and theoretical perspectives on how individuals, groups, and societies, organize, perceive, and communicate about reality.

The fallacy that simple knowledge of an issue is akin to solving that issue, derived from the phrase, "And knowing is half the battle!"

The practice of waking up early to go outside and listen to birdsong — a quiet act of attention to nature's first sounds of the day.

An argument that accounts for a phenomenon in terms of the very phenomenon that it is supposed to explain, which results in an infinite recursion.

An argument that supports both sides of an issue by using terms that are selectively emotionally sensitive.

The fallacy of assuming what's true of the parts must be true of the whole (or vice versa). One corrupt employee doesn't make a corrupt company, and one great player doesn't make a great team.

A fallacy where something is declared "better" or "faster" without specifying compared to what. Without a baseline, the claim is meaningless.

In semiotics, the phenomenon of a sign pointing to (or indexing) some object in the context in which it occurs — a sign that signifies indexically is called an index

A reasoning error where a broad conclusion is drawn from insufficient or weak evidence. The premises may point in a direction, but they don't adequately support the leap.

The fallacy of assuming that because the experts of a field of knowledge disagree on a certain point, the scholars must know nothing, and therefore the legitimacy of their entire field is put to question.

A metaphor used by journalists and other writers to illustrate how information should be prioritized and structured in a text (e.g., a news report), typically following a pattern of most important/breaking to least-important/fully-detailed.

A classical Japanese dance-drama known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate makeup worn by some of its performers.

Solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, i.e. using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.

A thought experiment by Jorge Luis Borges imagining a vast library containing every possible arrangement of characters across 410 pages — most pages are gibberish, but somewhere within are every book ever written and every book that could be.

A shared language used for communication between people who do not share a native tongue — often a third language distinct from either speaker's mother tongue.

A term's connotations are relied on to sway the argument towards a particular conclusion, as opposed to an argument itself.

Studying or working late into the night by lamplight, or the intellectual work produced from such devoted effort.

Describing an occurrence in vivid detail, even if it is an exceptional occurrence, to convince someone that it is a problem.

Malagasy expression, literally “it exists but it’s empty,” which is colloquially ‘out of stock,’ but also serves as a more philosophical notion of having the capacity and expectation to have something, but to not currently be in possession of that thing.

The fallacy where an arguer conflates two similar positions — one modest and easy to defend (the "motte") and one much more controversial (the "bailey"). The arguer advances the controversial position, but when challenged, they insist that they are only advancing the more modest position.

The fallacy of attempting to make a generalization true by changing the generalization to exclude a counterexample.

The burden of proof is on the person who makes the claim, not on the person who denies (or questions the claim).

An informal fallacy of generalization, where a generalization is accurate, but comes with one or more qualifications which eliminate so many cases that what remains is much less impressive than the initial statement might have led one to believe.

Extended deliberation or negotiation aimed at reaching consensus through open dialogue, though now often used informally to mean excessive, drawn-out, or unnecessary talk and fuss.

A logical fallacy where the conclusion is smuggled into the premise. The argument assumes the very thing it's supposed to prove.

Presenting adverse information about a target person with the intention of discrediting everything that the target person says.

A fallacy where a proposition is repeatedly restated regardless of contradiction, and is thought to gain from that repetition.

A fallacy of statistical reasoning, typically used by the prosecution to argue for the guilt of a defendant during a criminal trial.

Using a form of argument that, if it were valid, could be used to reach an additional, invalid conclusion.

An argument in which evidence presented in response to a specific claim is dismissed and some other (often greater) evidence is demanded.

Assuming all words refer to existing things and that the meaning of words reside within the things they refer to.

Ascribes cause where none exists — the flaw is failing to account for natural fluctuations, often used as a post-hoc fallacy.

A cognitive bias whereupon a saying or aphorism is judged as more accurate or truthful when it is rewritten to rhyme.

A construction from linguistics, psychology and rhetoric which demonstrates how our minds downplay the role of empathy in our formation of opinions of others. Typically demonstrated with three statements of increasing distance from oneself and their declining empathy, such as, "I am firm (positive empathy); you are obstinate (neutral empathy); they are dumb (negative empathy)."

An analogy to illustrate that the philosophic burden of proof lies upon a person making unfalsifiable claims, rather than shifting the burden of disproof to others.

Communicating a socially tuned message to an audience can lead to a bias of identifying the tuned message as one's own thoughts.

A quality of conspiracy theories that makes them immune to disproof — any counter-evidence is absorbed by supporters as further proof of the conspiracy's depth and reach.

A metaphor for the reflex-like tendency to reject new evidence or new knowledge because it contradicts established norms, beliefs or paradigms.

A long-winded anecdote characterized by extensive narration, of typically irrelevant incidents, and terminated by an anticlimax or a pointless punchline.

The phenomenon where a message becomes more persuasive over time, even if it originally came with a reason to doubt it. We forget the source but remember the claim.

Asserting that if we allow A to happen, then Z will eventually happen too, therefore A should not happen.

The fallacy of denying the logical conclusion of an inductive argument, dismissing an effect as "just a coincidence" when it is very likely not.

A term used to describe deceptive marketing, or a placebo medication that is advertised as a 'cure-all' product (sold by a 'Snake Oil Salesman') but in fact is either completely inert, or even harmful (not least of which due to the price paid to the unfortunate purchaser.

The phenomenon in most languages of disproportionately higher representation of words related to social and interpersonal interactions, as compared to words related to physical or mental aspects of behavior.

A proponent of a position attempts to cite something as an exemption to a generally accepted rule or principle without justifying the exemption.

Giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while actually refuting an argument that was not advanced by that opponent.

The fallacy of redefining a correlative so that one alternative is made impossible (all things are either "X" or "Y").

The problem of how words (symbols) get their meanings, and hence to the problem of what meaning itself really is.

A figure of speech in which a term for a part of something refers to the whole of something or vice versa, such as "suits" referring to businessmen.

Cherry-picking data clusters to suit an argument while ignoring the data that doesn't fit. Like painting a target around bullet holes and calling it marksmanship.

A commonly used phrase, sometimes passing as folk wisdom, used to quell cognitive dissonance, conceal lack of forethought, move on to other topics, etc. but in any case, to end the debate with a cliché rather than a point.

A prefix denoting the first, earliest, or most archetypal form of something.

German term that combines "verschlimmern" (to make worse) and "verbesserung" (improvement). It describes a situation where an attempted improvement actually makes things worse. This term is often used to refer to well-intentioned changes that backfire, resulting in more problems than benefits.

When two parties believe they're arguing but are actually saying the same thing in different words. The conflict is illusory — the substance aligns.

The argument states that a certain position is false or wrong or should be disregarded because its proponent fails to act consistently in accordance with that position.

In card games, a card that can substitute for any other card as designated by the holder. More broadly, a flexible stand-in or unpredictable element that can represent various possibilities.

A strategy in which one side seeks to prevail not by the use of superior force, but by making emotional or intellectual appeals to sway supporters of the other side.