Red Herring

Red herring is a fallacy where an individual distracts the listener from the problem. It
is deliberate and attempts to push the reader or the listener away from the main point.

Premise One: I do not know Putin and I have never had any dealings with Russia.

Premise Two: President Obama had dealings with Iran a country that is associated with
terrorism yet there was no problem then.

Conclusion: I should not be questioned on my dealings with Russia.

The example is adapted from President Donald Trump’s Twitter account. The
president attempted to distance himself from dealings with Russia by diverting attention away
from the main issue and instead attempting to sway Americans to focus on President Obama.
President Trump should have instead offered conclusive evidence on why he was not
involved in any dealings with Russia. He should have confined himself to the questions
raised.

False Dilemma

False dilemma is a type of fallacy where one is given narrow options. One is then told
that they must reject one of the options given. The result is one has to accept the options that
remain.

Premise One: An emotionally unstable boy can drive recklessly and destroy your car.

Premise Two: You can either have All State Insurance or have subscribed to other insurance
covers.

Premise Three: With All State Insurance, you will get compensated for the damages caused
by a teenage boy who has knocked your car hence destroying it (lordbaenre, 2010).

Premise Four: With other insurance companies you will not get compensated and you will
have to pay for the damages yourself (lordbaenre, 2010).

Conclusion: You should subscribe to All State Insurance (lordbaenre, 2010).

In this case, one is being given only two options which are to subscribe to All State
Insurance or other insurance companies. One is then being forced to one option since other
insurance companies do not compensate in case your car is destroyed by an unstable boy. The
fallacy can be avoided by explaining all options.

Hasty Generalization

Hasty generalization is an argument advanced based on a small sample. The result is
an argument that is unfounded (Hardy et al., 2015).

Premise One: A video shows a girl with bacon in her handbag (Amore, 2013).

Premise Two: A few guys come and start talking to the ladies (Amore, 2013).

Conclusion: All men love bacon (Amore, 2013).

The Taco Bell advert assumes that all men love bacon. The fallacy can be avoided
through ensuring that the sample taken is larger. It is a fallacy to assume that all men love
bacon.

References

Yourish, K. (2019, February 19). Trump Has Publicly Attacked the Russia Investigation
More Than 1,100 Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/19/us/politics/trump-attacks-
obstruction-investigation.html

Hardy, J., Foster, C., & Zúñiga y Postigo, G. (2015). With good reason: A guide to critical
thinking. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Amore, J. (2013). Taco Bell “Purse” :30. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/60873021
lordbaenre. (2010). Allstate mayhem commercial – Dean Winters as Teenage Girl in Pink
Truck. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtP-S9OS0o0