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Legal Fallacies

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Naturalistic Fallacy

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The naturalistic fallacy involves deriving an ethical obligation from a natural fact. It assumes that just because something is a certain way naturally, it ought to be that way ethically. Example: 'Humans naturally seek their own survival; therefore, it is morally right to do anything to ensure one’s own survival.'

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Straw Man

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This fallacy is committed when someone creates a distorted or simplified caricature of their opponent's argument, and then attacks that misrepresentation, rather than what their opponent is actually saying. Example: 'Senator Jones says that we should not fund the attack submarine program. I disagree entirely; I can't understand why he wants to leave us defenseless like that.'

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Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

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This fallacy involves drawing a conclusion that because something happened after another thing, it must have occurred as a result of it. Example: 'Ever since the court allowed children to be tried as adults, juvenile crime rates have increased, so the court’s decision must be the cause.'

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Ad Hominem

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This fallacy targets the person who is making an argument rather than the argument itself. Example: 'The judge’s ruling on the case should not be taken seriously because she was once arrested for drunken driving.'

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Red Herring

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This fallacy is committed when someone diverts the argument to a topic unrelated to the issue at hand. Example: 'While discussing the crime rate, the senator keeps bringing up terrorism, which is a completely different issue.'

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Appeal to Tradition

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This fallacy occurs when it is assumed that something is better or correct simply because it is older, traditional, or 'always has been done.' Example: 'This law has governed our society for over 200 years, so it must be just and necessary.'

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Slippery Slope

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This fallacy happens when a person argues that a relatively small first step leads to a chain of related events culminating in some significant (usually negative) effect. Example: 'If we allow assisted suicide, next people will start killing others on the mere basis of convenience.'

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False Dilemma

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This occurs when it is suggested that only limited alternatives exist despite the fact there may be more than two outcomes or options. Example: 'The country must either increase the defense budget or risk being unprepared for an attack.'

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Circular Reasoning

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Occurs when the conclusion of an argument is used as a premise of the argument. Example: 'The law is just because it says within the law that it is based on justice.'

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Hasty Generalization

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This fallacy is made when a conclusion is drawn from a sample size that is too small or selective to assume that it represents the whole. Example: 'The fact that the defendant was in a gang five years ago clearly shows that he is guilty of this crime.'

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Appeal to Authority

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This fallacy happens when an assertion is deemed true because of the position or authority of the person asserting it. Example: 'The senator said that this new law will benefit everyone, so it must be true.'

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Equivocation

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Occurs when a key term or phrase in an argument is used in an ambiguous way, with one meaning in one portion of the argument and then another meaning in another portion. Example: 'The law says that it is a punishable offense to take pictures of military installations. I took a picture of my girlfriend in front of the army barracks, so I guess I will go to jail now.'

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