Common Logical Fallacies in Public Discourse
-
Fallacy Name
False Binary
What It Is
A simplified framing of a question as an A or B choice.
How It Shows Up in Public Life
Often used currently to validateDescribe how this fallacy appears in:
political debate
policy design
media framing
institutional behavior
Use realistic phrasing, not caricatures.
Why It’s Persuasive
The simplification of complex topics into seemingly ‘obvious’ choices gives the speaker both a strawman, and an inherent justification when often many other variable and options are also present that complicate the interpretation.
simplifies complexity
protects status or power
What It Obscures
Name what gets hidden when this fallacy is accepted:
structural causes
moral responsibility
power asymmetries
alternative futures
Be explicit.
Who Benefits
Identify:
institutions
industries
political actors
cultural narratives
Avoid conspiracy framing — focus on incentives.
What Clear Thinking Would Ask Instead
Reframe the conversation with 2–4 grounding questions, e.g.:
“What outcome are we actually trying to achieve?”
“Who bears the cost of this framing?”
“What assumptions are being treated as natural?”
-
Fallacy Name
(Common alias or phrase, if applicable)
What It Is
A plain-language definition of the fallacy — no jargon, no academic throat-clearing.
One or two sentences max.
How It Shows Up in Public Life
Describe how this fallacy appears in:
political debate
policy design
media framing
institutional behavior
Use realistic phrasing, not caricatures.
Why It’s Persuasive
Explain the emotional or cognitive payoff:
reduces fear
preserves identity
avoids loss
simplifies complexity
protects status or power
This is crucial — fallacies survive because they work.
What It Obscures
Name what gets hidden when this fallacy is accepted:
structural causes
moral responsibility
power asymmetries
alternative futures
Be explicit.
Who Benefits
Identify:
institutions
industries
political actors
cultural narratives
Avoid conspiracy framing — focus on incentives.
What Clear Thinking Would Ask Instead
Reframe the conversation with 2–4 grounding questions, e.g.:
“What outcome are we actually trying to achieve?”
“Who bears the cost of this framing?”
“What assumptions are being treated as natural?”
-
Fallacy Name
(Common alias or phrase, if applicable)
What It Is
A plain-language definition of the fallacy — no jargon, no academic throat-clearing.
One or two sentences max.
How It Shows Up in Public Life
Describe how this fallacy appears in:
political debate
policy design
media framing
institutional behavior
Use realistic phrasing, not caricatures.
Why It’s Persuasive
Explain the emotional or cognitive payoff:
reduces fear
preserves identity
avoids loss
simplifies complexity
protects status or power
This is crucial — fallacies survive because they work.
What It Obscures
Name what gets hidden when this fallacy is accepted:
structural causes
moral responsibility
power asymmetries
alternative futures
Be explicit.
Who Benefits
Identify:
institutions
industries
political actors
cultural narratives
Avoid conspiracy framing — focus on incentives.
What Clear Thinking Would Ask Instead
Reframe the conversation with 2–4 grounding questions, e.g.:
“What outcome are we actually trying to achieve?”
“Who bears the cost of this framing?”
“What assumptions are being treated as natural?”
-
Fallacy Name
(Common alias or phrase, if applicable)
What It Is
A plain-language definition of the fallacy — no jargon, no academic throat-clearing.
One or two sentences max.
How It Shows Up in Public Life
Describe how this fallacy appears in:
political debate
policy design
media framing
institutional behavior
Use realistic phrasing, not caricatures.
Why It’s Persuasive
Explain the emotional or cognitive payoff:
reduces fear
preserves identity
avoids loss
simplifies complexity
protects status or power
This is crucial — fallacies survive because they work.
What It Obscures
Name what gets hidden when this fallacy is accepted:
structural causes
moral responsibility
power asymmetries
alternative futures
Be explicit.
Who Benefits
Identify:
institutions
industries
political actors
cultural narratives
Avoid conspiracy framing — focus on incentives.
What Clear Thinking Would Ask Instead
Reframe the conversation with 2–4 grounding questions, e.g.:
“What outcome are we actually trying to achieve?”
“Who bears the cost of this framing?”
“What assumptions are being treated as natural?”
-
Fallacy Name
Ad Hominem
What It Is
Attacking an opponent’s character, identity, or personal characteristics to undermine and avoid responding in good faith.
How It Shows Up in Public Life
Often as a dog whistle, or in tone policing, a favorite of our current president.
Why It’s Persuasive
Often reinforces an ‘us’ against a ‘them’, signals legacy power imbalances, or functions as a shorthand to avoid engaging with difficult topics.
reduces fear
preserves identity
avoids loss
simplifies complexity
protects status or power
What It Obscures
Name what gets hidden when this fallacy is accepted:
structural causes
moral responsibility
power asymmetries
alternative futures
Be explicit.
Who Benefits
Identify:
institutions
industries
political actors
cultural narratives
Avoid conspiracy framing — focus on incentives.
What Clear Thinking Would Ask Instead
“What was the object of the deflection?
“Who bears the cost of this framing?”
“What assumptions are being treated as natural?”
-
Fallacy Name
(Common alias or phrase, if applicable)
What It Is
A plain-language definition of the fallacy — no jargon, no academic throat-clearing.
One or two sentences max.
How It Shows Up in Public Life
Describe how this fallacy appears in:
political debate
policy design
media framing
institutional behavior
Use realistic phrasing, not caricatures.
Why It’s Persuasive
Explain the emotional or cognitive payoff:
reduces fear
preserves identity
avoids loss
simplifies complexity
protects status or power
This is crucial — fallacies survive because they work.
What It Obscures
Name what gets hidden when this fallacy is accepted:
structural causes
moral responsibility
power asymmetries
alternative futures
Be explicit.
Who Benefits
Identify:
institutions
industries
political actors
cultural narratives
Avoid conspiracy framing — focus on incentives.
What Clear Thinking Would Ask Instead
Reframe the conversation with 2–4 grounding questions, e.g.:
“What outcome are we actually trying to achieve?”
“Who bears the cost of this framing?”
“What assumptions are being treated as natural?”