You have met over twenty fallacies, from red herring to division. Several come in look-alike pairs. Naming the right one is a test of whether you see what the reasoning does.
Key idea
Name a fallacy by the job the faulty step does: distorting a view, changing the subject, leaping from a sample, misapplying a rule, assuming the conclusion, and so on. Find the faulty step first; then ask what it does.
Why it works
Surface words mislead. "Everyone" appears in arguments that are fine; "expert" appears in fair appeals to authority. Two passages about a menu can commit different fallacies. Only the job of the faulty step tells you which name fits.
| Look-alikes | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Straw man / red herring | Twists the other view / drops it for another topic |
| Hasty generalization / accident | Few cases up to a rule / a good rule down to an exception |
| Composition / division | Parts to whole / whole to parts |
| Equivocation / amphiboly | One word, two meanings / one sentence, two structures |
| False cause / slippery slope | One weak causal link / a chain of them |
| Begging the question / appeal to ignorance | Conclusion hidden in a premise / lack of proof taken as proof |
Worked example: Straw man or red herring?
Ava: "We should plant a few more trees on Main Street." Ben: "Our town has the best summer fair in the county, so Main Street is fine."
- Does Ben attack a twisted version of Ava's plan? No.
- He changes the subject to the fair and treats the question as settled.
Answer: Red herring.
Worked example: Composition or division?
"The orchestra is famous, so each player in it must be famous."
- The premise is about the whole (the orchestra).
- The conclusion is about the parts (each player).
- Whole to parts.
Answer: Division.
Common mistake
Matching on surface words like "everyone" or "expert" rather than on what the reasoning does. Find the faulty step first, then name it by its job.