Appeal to Authority

Appeal to Authority is using the opinion or position of an authority figure, or institution of authority, in place of an actual argument.

An example of the fallacy is:

Person A is (claimed to be) an authority on subject S.

Person A makes claim C about subject S.

Therefore, C is true.

Appeal to Authority is used when information is backed up by having an authority figure support it, even though the authority figure is not an expert on the information that is being given. For example, a person says that they should stop eating after 6 PM because Oprah said it is unhealthy. This is a fallacy because Oprah is not an expert in health and diet. However, the person is using Oprah as support for their claim because Oprah is seen as an authority figure since she has wealth and fame. Another example is seen in the movie Matilda. Matilda realizes that her father’s business has to do with selling vehicles in an illegal way. Matilda points this out to her father but her opinion is shut down because her father is an authority figure and uses that to prove her wrong.

Matilda video example

In this case, Person A is the father, Subject S is Matilda and claim C is what the father says.

The Dad is an authority figure on Matilda

The dad says that Matilda is little, wrong and dumb because he is the father.

Therefore, this must be true.

The Appeal to authority fallacy can clearly be seen because the audience knows that Matilda is not wrong, but the father uses his own authority figure to say that she is. 

Bandwagon

A bandwagon fallacy is a statement presented in an argument that appeals to the growing popularity of an idea or concept as a reason for accepting the argument as true. 

Bandwagon fallacies state that because an idea or action is popular, it must be correct and accepted. Bandwagon fallacies are used in arguments to distract the audience from the actual issue being presented by drawing attention to a popular belief or behavior. By making an argument appeal to the popular consensus, the arguer is attempting to build credibility based solely upon popularity regardless of the argument's actual validity. Many people assume that if something has popular support, it must be correct simply because “everybody” cannot be wrong. However, just because an idea or action is popular, does not mean it is correct, thus it is a fallacy.

Bandwagon fallacies are usually expressed with informal language. By using informal language, the argument is made to appeal to everyone, thus reinforcing the idea that “everyone” complies with the proposed concept. Bandwagon fallacies frequently uses statistics to prove popular support. For example, “7 out of 10 dentists recommend Crest.” Also bandwagon fallacies use words like everyone or the majority to state that the argument is widely supported.

Bandwagon fallacies are used daily by many advertisers. Bandwagon fallacies are also used in peer pressure, religious arguments, political speeches, sports, and many other common arguments. 

Toothpaste commercial

Slippery Slope

Asserting that if we allow A to happen, then Z will consequently happen too, therefore A should not happen.


The slippery slope fallacy suggests that something is dangerous because once one event occurs, other events will follow.
An example of the slippery slope fallacy is saying that McDonalds should not be able to advertise at the Olympics. The Olympics is the most watched televised event, therefore it will reach a large part of the worlds population. The advertisements will influence people to go to a McDonalds restaurant and eat the high calorie foods. The people that dine at McDonalds will then become overweight which could lead to obesity. When people are obese the amount of health related issues increases. This will increase the amount of federal spending on health care. 

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Black-or-White

Where two alternative states are presented as the only possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist.

The black or white fallacy is choosing something over another.

For Example: Say you only have 10 dollars and you see a shirt for 10 dollars at the store and you really want to purchase it. But then when you are on your way to the store to go get it, your mom asks you to loan her 10 dollars. So you either have to choose, loaning the money to your mother, or buying the shirt.

"Air Bud" Choosing an Owner 

The video shows how "Buddy" has to choose between who he wants to stay with. His original owners and family, or the other guy who didn't care so much about him as they did.