A reference for better arguments.
Logical fallacies, cognitive biases, and rhetorical devices: what they are, why they go wrong, and how to fix them. Each entry has a short URL so the page can do the explaining for you.
fallacy.is/straw-man
fallacy.is/whataboutism
fallacy.is/ad-hominem
Logical fallacies
Ad Hominem
Attacking the person making an argument instead of the argument itself.
Anecdotal Evidence
Drawing a general conclusion from a single story or personal experience.
Appeal to Authority
Using a person's status as proof of a claim, instead of the evidence behind the claim.
Appeal to Emotion
Substituting an emotional reaction for an argument about the facts.
Bandwagon
Treating how many people believe a claim as evidence that the claim is true.
Circular Reasoning
Supporting a claim with the claim itself, dressed up in different words.
False Dichotomy
Framing a choice as two options when more exist.
Genetic Fallacy
Judging a claim by its source, origin, or history instead of its content.
No True Scotsman
Redefining a category on the fly to exclude counterexamples, protecting a claim about the category.
Post Hoc
Assuming that because one thing followed another, the first caused the second.
Red Herring
Introducing an irrelevant topic to distract from the actual argument.
Slippery Slope
Claiming a small step will inevitably cause a chain of extreme consequences, without showing why.
Straw Man
Replacing someone's argument with a weaker version, then knocking down the weaker version.
Tu Quoque
Dismissing a critique by pointing out that the critic is guilty of the same thing.
Cognitive biases
Confirmation Bias
The tendency to notice, remember, and trust evidence that supports what you already believe.
Dunning-Kruger Effect
A pattern where people with limited competence in a domain tend to overestimate their ability in that domain.
Sunk Cost Fallacy
Continuing a course of action because of what has already been spent on it, rather than what it still offers.