Misc/Debaters Glossary
< Misc
Debaters Glossary
This entire wiki is dedicated to help you learn and share the truth. Use this guide to help prepare you for debating with the "globers".
When debating always remember there are "newbies" listening in. "Newbies" need to hear the basics in your arguments (even if your opponent is "advanced"). Always prepare a short and concise description for each philosophy/proposition of the true earth. If that’s too hard to do, then the argument will fail!
REMEMBER: Debates are NOT for your opponent, they're for the audience!
Debate Do's and Don't
Sometimes people will stop listening because a claim made sound ridiculous or is not provided with a clear point.
Be careful not to fall into lazy descriptions as there's many newbies out there that haven't heard any of the truth about our beautiful created stationary topographical plane.
| Don't do | Do instead |
|---|---|
| Don't say "space is fake" | Say "Outer space we are told as children is what is fake". |
| Don't say the "sun goes around" | Say "the sun CIRCLES ABOVE" (around implying underneath) |
Logical Fallacies
A logical fallacy is an argument that may sound convincing or true but is actually flawed. Logical fallacies are leaps of logic that lead us to an unsupported conclusion. People may commit a logical fallacy unintentionally, due to poor reasoning, or intentionally, in order to manipulate others.
This list provides an alphabetical overview of the most common types of logical fallacies. Learn the logical fallacies and avoid using them in your arguments!
| Type | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ad hominem fallacy | Your argument addresses the character, motives, or personal attributes of someone instead of the content of their argument. | You don’t know anything about speech disorders! You don’t have one yourself! |
| Anecdotal evidence fallacy | You use a personal experience or rare example instead of substantive evidence or sound logic. | Person A: Smoking is bad for your health. Person B: No, it’s not! My grandpa smoked, and he died at 98! |
| Appeal to authority fallacy | You claim that your statement is true because a figure of (false or anonymous) authority made it. | Person A: I’m going to try a new medication for my migraines. Person B: According to scientists, the best way to alleviate migraines is by using essential oils. |
| Appeal to ignorance fallacy | You claim that your statement is true because there is no evidence against it. Or you claim that something is false because there is no evidence in favor of it. | Person A: You should try this new medication. Person B: Is it safe for children? Person A: There’s no evidence that it isn’t, so you should try it. |
| Appeal to pity fallacy | You try to convince your audience by provoking a feeling of guilt or pity with your argument. | You should buy this bike, because I put so much work into restoring it after my father passed away. |
| Bandwagon fallacy (ad populum, appeal to popular opinion) | You claim that something is true because it’s the opinion of the majority. | Of course you should buy an iPhone. 1.5 billion people can’t be wrong! |
| Burden of proof fallacy | You are making a claim but evading the burden of proof by pretending that you’ve fulfilled it or by proposing that the other person is responsible for disproving your claim. | Person A: We should invest in a social media campaign! Person B: Why? Person A: Why not? |
| Circular reasoning fallacy | You are using a statement to prove the reasons for the statement (A is true because B is true, and B is true because A is true). | Person A: Jesse said Marc is very friendly, because he’s very nice. Person B: Did he say what’s so nice about him? Person A: He’s very friendly! |
| Correlation-causation fallacy | You assume a cause-and-effect relationship because two things are correlated (in reality, correlation does not imply causation). | The sun is shining, and there have been more burglaries than usual. It’s clear that the sun causes people to steal. |
| Equivocation fallacy | You use a word or phrase in your argument that can mean two things or causes ambiguity in a different way. | Fries are unhealthy. Apple fries are fries, so they must be unhealthy. |
| False dilemma fallacy (false dichotomy fallacy) | You suggest there are only two sides to a debate or dilemma when there are many more. | If I don’t buy the expensive new headphones, I’ll have to use the old, broken ones. |
| Hasty generalization fallacy (overgeneralization fallacy) | You make a claim based on very little evidence or on evidence that’s not representative. | Two people I know experienced headaches after eating potato chips, so potato chips cause headaches. |
| Loaded question fallacy | You ask a question that contains a controversial or subjective assumption that makes the other person feel guilty or attacked, making it difficult for them to answer honestly. | So you’re going to marry that cheating boyfriend? |
| Middle ground fallacy (argument to moderation) | You suggest that the truth is always a compromise between two opposing or extreme opinions or positions. | Person A: Nobody should drive while under the influence of alcohol. Person B: Actually, drunk driving is totally fine. Person C: I guess that some people should drive drunk, and others shouldn’t. |
| No true Scotsman fallacy | You make a generalization about a group, but when confronted with contradictory evidence, you suggest that that case is not representative of the group you were generalizing about. | Person A: All redheaded people have higher pain tolerance. Person B: Mary is a redhead, and she has very low pain tolerance. Person A: That doesn’t count! She’s strawberry blonde and not a true redhead. |
| Post hoc (ergo propter hoc) fallacy | You claim that one event is the result of another event, simply because they one happened after the other. | You sneezed, and then Sally got sick. You infected her! |
| Red herring fallacy | You try to redirect a conversation away from its original topic by introducing an irrelevant piece of information to distract the reader or listener. | Police officer: I’ve pulled you over for speeding. Offender: You shouldn’t be wasting your time on me; there are murderers out there! |
| Slippery slope fallacy | You claim that an initial event or action will trigger a series of other events and lead to an extreme, undesirable outcome. | Person A: We should lower the legal drinking age. Person B: No! If we do that, we’ll have 10-year-olds getting drunk in bars! |
| Straw man fallacy | You distort someone else’s argument to make it easier to attack or refute, because you’re not addressing their actual argument. | Person A: We should increase benefits for unemployed single mothers during the first year after childbirth. Person B: So you believe we should incentivize women to become single mothers and live off the tax money of hardworking citizens? |
| Sunk cost fallacy | You make an irrational, suboptimal decision to continue with an action or project because of past investments. | This movie is so boring, but we might as well keep watching. We’re already 30 minutes in! |
| Tu quoque fallacy (appeal to hypocrisy) | You attempt to discredit someone else’s argument by stating that their actions or behavior are not in line with their argument (so they’re a hypocrite). They may well be a hypocrite, but it doesn’t make their argument incorrect. | Person A: Killing animals is wrong. Person B: You ate meat 10 years ago; you’ve done the same thing! |
Gallery
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Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies
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Common Fallacies
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Fallacy Robots
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Burden of proof
