An argument is a process of supporting a claim or conclusion by providing reasons or evidence, in the form of premises, for that claim. An argument can be weak or invalid in several ways. The premises—the reasons or evidence given in support of a particular conclusion or position—may be mistaken, or the evidence may not support the conclusion. An argument contains a fallacy when it appears to be correct but on further examination is found to be incorrect. Fallacies may be formal or informal. In a formal fallacy, the form of the argument itself is invalid. For example, the following argument contains a formal fallacy: “Some high school dropouts are men. No doctors are high school dropouts. Therefore, no doctors are men.” Although the premises are true, the conclusion does not follow because the form of the argument is faulty.

An informal fallacy is a type of mistaken reasoning that occurs when an argument is psychologically or emotionally persuasive but logically incorrect. Because fallacies can lead us to accept unsupported conclusions, being taken in by them can cause us to make poor life choices—as happened when Shannon was taken in by a destructive cult. Being able to identify informal fallacies makes it less likely that you will fall for these fallacies or use them in an argument.

Discuss a fallacy (as described in the text) that you have encountered at home, at work, in text, or in the media. This could also be one that you committed.

Explain why the reasoning is fallacious in the context it was used.