This web site has its roots primarily in the fact that many of my online discussions with various people were becoming futile and more frustrating than entertaining. It is now clear to me that few people today can formulate a clear argument, and many cannot even distingish between an opinion and a logical argument.

With so few people able to think critically, it is no wonder that infomercials are as successful as they are, filled with improper appeals and fallacies of diversion, they are video vacuum cleaners, sucking in anyone not prepared to see past their rhetoric.

It occurred to me then, that perhaps a small primer on informal logic might be a useful tool to which I could direct those who need (and want) to know some of the basics of critical thinking before venturing into the world of online debate. I could not find anything suitable on the web, so the logical thing to do was to create one myself.

So, if you have ever purchased anything from an infomercial, this site is for you. If you would like to be able to argue cogently with others, on any topic, this site is for you; and if you have ever annoyed me by resorting to diversionary tactics in a discussion when you couldn't think of anything worthwhile to say, this site is definitely for you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Introduction
  2. Sorting the wheat from the chaff: logically good and bad arguments
    1. Tips for extracting the argument in any discourse
  3. Fallacies
    1. Irrelevant Reason (Non Sequitur)
    2. Hasty Generalization (Hasty Conclusion)
    3. Unacceptable (Problematic) Premise
      1. Begging the Question (Petitio Principii)
      2. Inconsistency
        1. Improper Charge of Inconsistency
    4. Fallacies of Diversion
      1. Straw Man
      2. Ad Hominem
        1. Guilt by Association
      3. Red Herring
    5. Counterfeit Arguments
      1. Faulty Analogy
      2. Two Wrongs
        1. Improper Appeal to Practice
      3. Questionable Cause (post hoc ergo propter hoc)