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Reasoning & Fallacies

Fallacy

FAL-uh-seenoun

A flaw in reasoning that makes an argument invalid or misleading, even when it sounds persuasive.

Not To Be Confused With

A fallacy is a flaw in the ARGUMENT, not proof the conclusion is false. An argument can be fallacious and yet its conclusion still happen to be true (proved some other way).

Fallacies come in two families: formal (the logical structure is broken) and informal (the structure looks fine but the reasoning cheats — by ambiguity, distraction, or emotional pressure). Learning the common ones is the cheapest upgrade to clear thinking, and Theologos's argument maps name the fallacies at work in each debate.

Related Terms

Fallacy — Definition | Theologos Media