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Arguing on the internet is almost never a good idea. Nobody ever wins and everyone gets annoyed.
But we all do it anyway, because we all think we’re a lot smarter than we actually are, and want to share our superior wisdom with the world.
Unfortunately, our superior wisdom isn't always that superior.
And unfortunately, most people don’t know how to argue, so the internet is overflowing with illogical howlers that could reduce a sane, rational person to tears.
Here are 10 real life examples of the most common logical fallacies we see on Women24, with an explanation, and what you should do when you encounter them.
1. Example:
What it is: ad hominem
The most common, and arguably the nastiest of logical fallacies, the ad hominem attack has the added benefit of making the arguer sound like a particularly mean 10 year-old. Latin for ‘to the man’, this is when the respondent attacks the person, not the argument. Which is pretty idiotic.
Some people choose to respond to ad hominem attacks with an ad hominem attack of their own, but that’s almost never a good idea – unless you want to get yourself trapped in a schoolyard-level argument until one of you dies.
The best response is no response at all. Idiots HATE being ignored.
2. Example:
What it is: Straw Man
This is another common fallacy and a special favourite of men’s right’s activists, mansplainers, pseudo intellectual trolls and other nutbags. This is where the arguer redefines whatever they’re arguing against, then attack the definition they just pulled out of their ass.
In this example the arguer has thrown away his dictionary and redefined feminism, but this fallacy is also common practise in politics (“The ANC are all communists!”) and of course, religion (“Atheism requires more faith than theism!”).
This is especially annoying because the straw man arguer has schizophrenically rejected reality and substituted their own (To misquote Mythbuster Adam Savage).
The best response is to bombard them with links to authoritative websites until they either lose their temper or go away.
Bonus point: Note Godwin’s law in action.
3. Example:
What it is: Bandwagon Fallacy
You’ll find the bandwagon fallacy most often applied on conversations about favourite movies, music and other forms of entertainment. This is the argument that if something is popular, well-liked and widely accepted, it has to be right and good.
For example, you say to a friend, “I hated The Lion King.” If she responds, “Well, millions of people loved it, so clearly you have no soul and you’re dead inside,” she’s committed the bandwagon fallacy.
It’s an easy one to counter. Simply respond with something like, “Well, millions of people vote for Jacob Zuma.” End of argument.
Bonus point: Note also the non sequitur fallacy in the first line (or in layman’s terms, being a creepy dickhead). * For more info on the non sequitur, see number 6.
4. Example:
What it is: Appeal to Faith
This fallacy is a debate-killer. It completely abandons all reason and logical process and simply tells you that you’re WRONG. Why? Because you don’t believe in the Right Things – the right things being exactly what the arguer believes, of course.
There’s no response to that. The debate is over. Faith is blind and irrational, and has no place in a debate. The best you can do is mutter a swear word under your breath and never talk to that person again.
Bonus point: Also note the No True Scotsman fallacy, where the replier argues that you can’t be a real Christian unless you agree with her completely. Sigh. What a crazy pants.
5. Example:
Explanation: Red Herring
Holy crap, red herring fallacies are annoying! And in this example, pretty offensive too. Red herrings are deployed to sabotage a debate, and they can be very effective. You sometimes have to be on your toes to catch them. This comment comes from an opinion piece on Anene Booysen, who was gang raped and mutilated, and later died from her injuries. But the commenter is a men’s rights activist, and didn’t want to talk about this case. In fact, he didn’t want *anyone* to talk about it. So he tries to derail the conversation by changing the subject to something similar, but different. Watch out. You have to resist the temptation to engage. If you must, respond with, “THAT’S NOT WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT!” Yes, in all CAPS. They deserve it.
6. Example:
What it is: non sequitur
Latin for ‘does not follow’, which makes it sound all scholastic and clever – but it’s actually one of the stupidest fallacies you’ll find.
And this is a classic example. How is not shaving related to not having kids? Obviously, they’re not related at all. As the phrase has it, it does not follow, except perhaps in the crazy twisted mind of the replier.
Adverts are rich with non sequiturs. For example: “If I buy this packet sauce, my family will love me”; or “if I drive this car, sexy people will want to shag me”.
It’s best not to ponder over non sequiturs for too long – you might do yourself an injury.
7. Example:
What it is: Slippery Slope
Okay, there are several things wrong with this comment, such as a straw man fallacy, terrible grammar and being an obnoxious asshat, but this is also an example of the slippery slope fallacy.
People love to predict doom and gloom and the land falling into the sea when things don’t go exactly the way they like. Here, the argument is that acceptance of gays and lesbians will lead to… well, insanity, clearly. The slippery slope fallacy often makes people sound a sandwich short of a picnic. Their predictions are often delusional.
A good response would be to challenge them to a bet. Say, R1 thousand to their favourite charity if their predictions come true. They’re crazy, but never crazy enough to put their money where their mouth is.
8. Example:
What it is: Argumentum ad passiones
This is the fallacy in which the arguer tries to win with emotion, rather than with facts, reasoning. The argument here is basically, “What you say upsets me, therefore it’s wrong.”
Yes, a lot of people still act as if their rights are being violated when they get offended, and that feelings have any bearing on an argument.
In this example, the arguer is trying to appeal to the writer’s guilt, but the most common form of this fallacy is the appeal to ridicule. If you haven’t seen this a million billion times, welcome to the internet! And here’s an example:
“Where do people find the time to think up all this crap??? Maybe if the writer had a job she would find out what real life is about. Why did I even click the link???”
Yes, a real person actually wrote that.
9. Example:
What it is: Special pleading
This fallacy comes in several flavours, and the purple prose above is one example. It goes something like this: 1) Everyone has a right to express their opinion. 2) Reader doesn’t like writer’s opinion. 3) Reader makes an exception for writer – namely, he must first see his family dying in growing pools of blood before he can comment.
It’s safe to say that most people have NOT seen their families dying in growing pools of blood or sound breath makes as it whistles through the hole in a slit throat (ew!). Yet it is commonly accepted that everyone has the right to talk about violence. Making far-fetched (and disturbingly specific) new rules for one exception reaches a whole new level of douchebaggery.
10. Example:
What it is: Two wrongs make a right
Yes, adults actually do this, and far more than they think. When confronted with a perception they view as an affront to their culture, religion, race or political belief, some people are quick to demand another group get similar treatment, to make things fair.
Of course that would just make things doubly unfair.
Here are two examples (and there are plenty more) from commenters who think Muslim countries are intolerant, so it’s perfectly fair for Western countries to be intolerant right back. This is the kind of reasoning one would expect to find in a schoolyard. A *special* schoolyard.
If you can’t resist the urge to tell them two wrongs don’t make a right, don’t expect a pleasant response. Vindictive people are unpleasant by definition.
Follow Chris on Twitter.
Follow Women24 on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
But we all do it anyway, because we all think we’re a lot smarter than we actually are, and want to share our superior wisdom with the world.
Unfortunately, our superior wisdom isn't always that superior.
And unfortunately, most people don’t know how to argue, so the internet is overflowing with illogical howlers that could reduce a sane, rational person to tears.
Here are 10 real life examples of the most common logical fallacies we see on Women24, with an explanation, and what you should do when you encounter them.
1. Example:
What it is: ad hominem
The most common, and arguably the nastiest of logical fallacies, the ad hominem attack has the added benefit of making the arguer sound like a particularly mean 10 year-old. Latin for ‘to the man’, this is when the respondent attacks the person, not the argument. Which is pretty idiotic.
Some people choose to respond to ad hominem attacks with an ad hominem attack of their own, but that’s almost never a good idea – unless you want to get yourself trapped in a schoolyard-level argument until one of you dies.
The best response is no response at all. Idiots HATE being ignored.
2. Example:
What it is: Straw Man
This is another common fallacy and a special favourite of men’s right’s activists, mansplainers, pseudo intellectual trolls and other nutbags. This is where the arguer redefines whatever they’re arguing against, then attack the definition they just pulled out of their ass.
In this example the arguer has thrown away his dictionary and redefined feminism, but this fallacy is also common practise in politics (“The ANC are all communists!”) and of course, religion (“Atheism requires more faith than theism!”).
This is especially annoying because the straw man arguer has schizophrenically rejected reality and substituted their own (To misquote Mythbuster Adam Savage).
The best response is to bombard them with links to authoritative websites until they either lose their temper or go away.
Bonus point: Note Godwin’s law in action.
3. Example:
What it is: Bandwagon Fallacy
You’ll find the bandwagon fallacy most often applied on conversations about favourite movies, music and other forms of entertainment. This is the argument that if something is popular, well-liked and widely accepted, it has to be right and good.
For example, you say to a friend, “I hated The Lion King.” If she responds, “Well, millions of people loved it, so clearly you have no soul and you’re dead inside,” she’s committed the bandwagon fallacy.
It’s an easy one to counter. Simply respond with something like, “Well, millions of people vote for Jacob Zuma.” End of argument.
Bonus point: Note also the non sequitur fallacy in the first line (or in layman’s terms, being a creepy dickhead). * For more info on the non sequitur, see number 6.
4. Example:
What it is: Appeal to Faith
This fallacy is a debate-killer. It completely abandons all reason and logical process and simply tells you that you’re WRONG. Why? Because you don’t believe in the Right Things – the right things being exactly what the arguer believes, of course.
There’s no response to that. The debate is over. Faith is blind and irrational, and has no place in a debate. The best you can do is mutter a swear word under your breath and never talk to that person again.
Bonus point: Also note the No True Scotsman fallacy, where the replier argues that you can’t be a real Christian unless you agree with her completely. Sigh. What a crazy pants.
5. Example:
Explanation: Red Herring
Holy crap, red herring fallacies are annoying! And in this example, pretty offensive too. Red herrings are deployed to sabotage a debate, and they can be very effective. You sometimes have to be on your toes to catch them. This comment comes from an opinion piece on Anene Booysen, who was gang raped and mutilated, and later died from her injuries. But the commenter is a men’s rights activist, and didn’t want to talk about this case. In fact, he didn’t want *anyone* to talk about it. So he tries to derail the conversation by changing the subject to something similar, but different. Watch out. You have to resist the temptation to engage. If you must, respond with, “THAT’S NOT WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT!” Yes, in all CAPS. They deserve it.
6. Example:
What it is: non sequitur
Latin for ‘does not follow’, which makes it sound all scholastic and clever – but it’s actually one of the stupidest fallacies you’ll find.
And this is a classic example. How is not shaving related to not having kids? Obviously, they’re not related at all. As the phrase has it, it does not follow, except perhaps in the crazy twisted mind of the replier.
Adverts are rich with non sequiturs. For example: “If I buy this packet sauce, my family will love me”; or “if I drive this car, sexy people will want to shag me”.
It’s best not to ponder over non sequiturs for too long – you might do yourself an injury.
7. Example:
What it is: Slippery Slope
Okay, there are several things wrong with this comment, such as a straw man fallacy, terrible grammar and being an obnoxious asshat, but this is also an example of the slippery slope fallacy.
People love to predict doom and gloom and the land falling into the sea when things don’t go exactly the way they like. Here, the argument is that acceptance of gays and lesbians will lead to… well, insanity, clearly. The slippery slope fallacy often makes people sound a sandwich short of a picnic. Their predictions are often delusional.
A good response would be to challenge them to a bet. Say, R1 thousand to their favourite charity if their predictions come true. They’re crazy, but never crazy enough to put their money where their mouth is.
8. Example:
What it is: Argumentum ad passiones
This is the fallacy in which the arguer tries to win with emotion, rather than with facts, reasoning. The argument here is basically, “What you say upsets me, therefore it’s wrong.”
Yes, a lot of people still act as if their rights are being violated when they get offended, and that feelings have any bearing on an argument.
In this example, the arguer is trying to appeal to the writer’s guilt, but the most common form of this fallacy is the appeal to ridicule. If you haven’t seen this a million billion times, welcome to the internet! And here’s an example:
“Where do people find the time to think up all this crap??? Maybe if the writer had a job she would find out what real life is about. Why did I even click the link???”
Yes, a real person actually wrote that.
9. Example:
What it is: Special pleading
This fallacy comes in several flavours, and the purple prose above is one example. It goes something like this: 1) Everyone has a right to express their opinion. 2) Reader doesn’t like writer’s opinion. 3) Reader makes an exception for writer – namely, he must first see his family dying in growing pools of blood before he can comment.
It’s safe to say that most people have NOT seen their families dying in growing pools of blood or sound breath makes as it whistles through the hole in a slit throat (ew!). Yet it is commonly accepted that everyone has the right to talk about violence. Making far-fetched (and disturbingly specific) new rules for one exception reaches a whole new level of douchebaggery.
10. Example:
What it is: Two wrongs make a right
Yes, adults actually do this, and far more than they think. When confronted with a perception they view as an affront to their culture, religion, race or political belief, some people are quick to demand another group get similar treatment, to make things fair.
Of course that would just make things doubly unfair.
Here are two examples (and there are plenty more) from commenters who think Muslim countries are intolerant, so it’s perfectly fair for Western countries to be intolerant right back. This is the kind of reasoning one would expect to find in a schoolyard. A *special* schoolyard.
If you can’t resist the urge to tell them two wrongs don’t make a right, don’t expect a pleasant response. Vindictive people are unpleasant by definition.
Follow Chris on Twitter.
Follow Women24 on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
