Ad hominem, false dilemma, begging the question, slippery slope and glittering generality are all terms the average citizen isn’t familiar with, but when explained, will realize this is what we are exposed to every day from the media, from our politicians, and unfortunately, even our peers. I urge you to question everything - question authority, question your language, question the choices you make, your opinions and everyone else’s as well. Every day you come across fallacies that not only make arguments irrelevant, but show you what falsehoods surround you.
Ad hominem: “to the man” attacks the person in the argument, not the argument. For example, if you’re in a discussion with someone and they call you a name, or bring up your financial state, your appearance, your race, gender, sexual orientation etc., this is more than likely not relevant whatsoever to the argument at hand and immediately discredits the person that used this fallacy. Don’t walk, RUN away when you encounter this. It’s not worth your time. However, if you’re a person that uses this fallacy, perhaps you shouldn’t be in this argument if the only response you have is a personal attack.
False dilemma: also known as the Black or White Fallacy. “If you don’t support Trump you don’t support this country," “if you aren’t vegan you hate animals," so on and so forth. The fallacy of a false dilemma is a popular one in politics, beware. The false dilemma takes two things, usually one being extreme, to get your support on the other. Nothing is EVER just this or that, black and white. When you are presented with this fallacy, take the time to consider all your options, thoroughly examine each side, and make it a point to acknowledge that this is indeed false - no ifs ands or buts.
Begging the question: basically, assuming in your argument that what you’re fighting for is already true, ex. “gay marriage is just wrong," “abortion is murder," etc. I’m sure everyone has heard these, and if you use them, don’t use your conclusion for your reasoning’s to put it plain and simple. For a truly… acknowledgeable…. argument, add in some statistics, some factual information, something. Please.
Slippery slope: if a change is made, it’s going to result in something ridiculously worse. This fallacy is used to strike fear in people. “If we legalize marijuana, people will start abusing heroin.” “If we allow free tuition, no one will work for anything.” Also common in politics, the slippery slope fallacy will tell you something scary and completely uncorrelated will occur if changes are made. Always question how the drastic outcome will occur just because of this change.
Finally, glittering generality: what you will hear every day in media and in every political speech, every sales pitch, every plea for forgiveness, you name it. Glittering generality entails distracting your logic with words that evoke emotions. If I said to you “Vote for me, I will take extensive action to prevent and fight terrorism and terroristic acts on this nation that I love dearly,” what words stick out? If you chose terrorism, terroristic acts, and love, you’ve got it. These words have such a connotation on society that they evoke emotions. Emotions that then distract you from noticing that I didn’t give you any explanation on how I plan to complete my intended action, and gave no information whatsoever. But it’s convincing, because of the fear the mere word terrorism strikes us with and the happy feeling and relatability that the word love brings us.
Whether you’re in a Facebook argument, chatting with a friend, watching the news or watching our newly elected president spew his speeches, you will catch these fallacies every day indefinitely. Again, I urge you to question everything you hear and see because false words and reasonings are all around us and in doing so you will perfect your own ability to provide sound arguments and reasonings for the philosophies and opinions you live by.
