I often see logical flaws and mistakes in people’s political social media statuses and in politicians’ speeches, arguments, and counterattacks. They’re called logical fallacies. Some schools and universities teach them in their English classes, but not all do, and those who do don’t emphasize them well enough. If all people learn about them and gain the ability to spot them, they’d become ten times smarter. They’d become less gullible to manipulation, and the world would become a better place. Let’s have a look at these common logical flaws and mistakes. You might be aware of many of them, but it’s good to consciously remember them and remind others of them in order to avoid them:
1. Generalization – this is probably the most common mistake
Ex. Just because some are X doesn’t mean they’re all X!
Ex. Just because some protesters are thugs/saboteurs/from a certain political party doesn’t mean all the protestors all are.
Ex. Just because 95% of politicians are corrupt doesn’t mean they’re all corrupt.
Ex. Just because he did one good thing doesn’t mean he’s a good person. Check to see if he’s done bad things.
2. Jumping to quick or false conclusions
Ex. “I ate cake yesterday and woke up early today. I guess cake makes you wake up early”. False, these 2 things are not related and there’s not enough proof to conclude that.
Ex. “The problem started today. Person X is the minister today. So person X must be responsible for the problem”. False, the problem is a result of years of bad practices from several ministers who came before person X… so it’s not just him who’s responsible.
Ex. “Person X hasn’t been able to achieve the goals even though he tried hard. It must be the fault of the circumstances and the others who have hindered him”. False, the problem is that person X wasn’t good enough to know how to handle the obstacles, circumstances, and achieve the goals.
Many of the below mistakes fall under this one, but I’m going to list them separately to emphasize them.
3. Incorrect correlation of events: Just because event X happened before event Y, doesn’t mean it caused it!
Ex. Just because the protests started before the Lira went down, doesn’t mean the protests caused it. Years of the government’s corruption and economic incompetence did.
Ex. Just because it rained in April, and burger sales increased in April, it doesn’t mean that rain increases burger sales. This has nothing to do with that, they just randomly happened at the same time.
4. Just because your leader or someone with authority said it, it doesn’t mean it’s true
Your leader or authority figure is a human. Humans make mistakes, lie, and sometimes say misleading things for political purposes or for their own benefit.
Ex. “The Lira situation is fine”. Not true, it’s in a downward spiral.
Ex. “If the opposing political party win, they will eat us”. Not true, no one will eat anyone… They just say this as a scare tactic to get more votes.
Ex. “The protests are funded by foreign embassies”. Not true, the people are funding it… They just say this to turn you against the protests/revolution because it threatens their power. And even if some embassy contributed, it doesn’t disqualify the needs and the demands of these protests. At the end of the day, they’re just asking for a better quality of life governed by new competent leaders because the old ones failed… does that make them evil? Disqualifying it and dismissing it as evil just because you saw or heard something you didn’t like would fall under the “generalization” mistake that we mentioned earlier.
Note: Some people, I hope you’re not one of them, are just too stubborn and aren’t open to accepting or even considering opposing points of view. The wise responsible person is always open to opposing points of view, tries to see things from different angles, questions what he/she is told, and hears all sides of the story.
5. Using faulty comparisons/analogies or nonequivalent ones
Ex. “Not supporting me is like betraying our religion”. No, you’re not a god, and not voting for you isn’t as big of a deal as heresy or betrayal, so don’t make it sound like so.
Ex. “Building a power plant is like spending 90 billion dollars to build a treehouse”. No, a power plant is not a treehouse, it actually generates electricity and income, lasts for years, and it doesn’t cost 90 billion dollars. Your analogy is not accurate.
Ex. “Letting someone new rule the country is like letting kids run a country”. No, what does this have to do with that? Someone new is not a kid; they can be qualified, competent, and experienced.
Ex. “Letting someone new rule the country is like letting the country head to chaos”. No, this does not necessarily lead to that, so don’t make it sound like that.
6. Just because everyone is doing it, doesn’t make it right
Ex. Just because everyone is voting for X, doesn’t make him the best choice.
Ex. Just because everyone is littering, doesn’t make it acceptable.
Ex. Just because everyone is saying that this is the best or only solution, doesn’t mean that it is.
Ex. A horrible new product is marketed on TV, everyone starts believing that it’s good, they all start buying it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s actually good or the best. Some other product that wasn’t equally marketed could actually be way better.
Ex. Just because everyone is spending money on Facebook ads, doesn’t mean it’s right for your type of business.
7. Using misleading or unrelated evidence to support an argument or divert attention from the problem
Ex. “We should solve the garbage crisis, but the enemy might attack us anytime so we need to focus on that.”. No, the enemy is not necessarily going to attack, and even if it is, what does this have to do with that? You can solve both problems at the same time. They’re not exclusive.
Ex. “This person is not the right person to be a minister because no one knows him”. No, what does popularity have to do with competence?
Ex. “A landfill is faster and cheaper so that’s what we should do to solve the garbage crisis”. No, a landfill might be cheaper and faster, but it doesn’t mean that it’s the best solution, because it’ll cause other problems such as pollution and cancer in the long run. A recycling solution would be the better and more sustainable option, even if it took longer to implement or cost more to initially set up.
Ex. “A power plant costs a lot so we shouldn’t build one”. No, even if it does cost a lot, in the long run, it might be the most sustainable and cheapest solution compared to other short-term alternatives.
Ex. “The robot wants to kill you, so we should ban robots”. No, the robot doesn’t want to kill you, and even if it does, not all robots do (don’t generalize!), so they should not all be banned.
8. Stating a claim in a circular way that makes it seem like it’s already obvious or like it’s common knowledge
Ex. “Everyone wants him as president because he’s the best person for the job”. No, there’s no proof that he’s the best person for the job, you’re just saying that. There’s also no proof that everyone wants him.
9. Appealing to emotions to distract from the facts
Ex. “The dam will bring water to hundreds of families”. What about the fact that the dam will cost an unreasonable amount of money, destroy an unreasonable area of nature, and the dam’s water is actually going to be contaminated with sewage and pollutants from a nearby landfill?
Ex. “We’ve helped hundreds of families, so we’re good”. Not necessarily… Just because you did some good deeds, it doesn’t eliminate the fact that you were corrupt or failed at other tasks… so that doesn’t make you good.
Ex. “We’ve saved the country from the enemy, so we’re always right”. What does this have to do with that? You are appreciated for what you have done, but that doesn’t make you always right. What about the fact that you’ve been hindering progress and covering up the deeds of some of your corrupt employees and allies?
10. Downplaying or inaccurately rephrasing/misrepresenting an opponent’s argument or achievement
Ex. Person X: “We need to stop dealing with country B”. Person Y: “So person X is saying that we should become enemies with country B, befriend country A, and let the enemy invade us”. No, that is not what he was saying!
Ex. Person X recruited a team, came up with a concept for a useful app, designed the app, built it, launched it, and marketed it using a Facebook page. Person Y who was just smoking and playing the whole time comes and says: “What have you even done? Anyone can create a Facebook page, my little brother can do it”. This shows how much of an @$$#*!# person Y is, because he’s trying to downplay person X’s achievements and make them seem like nothing.
Ex. Person X: “We should hire someone to solve that problem”. Person Y: “You’re saying we should waste our money on a stranger instead of solving it ourselves?”. The way person Y rephrased it made it sound bad, and that that’s not what person X intended nor suggested. Don’t make it seem so. It’s how you say it.
Ex. Person X: “We need to reduce the army’s budget because some of it is going to waste”. Person Y: “Person X wants to leave our country defenseless”. No, this doesn’t mean that.
11. Using scare tactics/intimidating or frightening people to agree with you
Ex. “If we don’t have things our way, we have guns and are not afraid to use them like we did the other day”. This is a common type of bullying. People who say things like this are abusing their power, and are scaring people in order to have things their way. They might even be bluffing and might not necessarily be willing to use their guns. Don’t succumb to this type of manipulation/abuse… but don’t retaliate with aggression or get into a fight either. Best thing to do in such a situation is communicate, negotiate, and find common grounds for a solution that everyone is happy with.
12. Illogical association of events in prediction
Ex: “If you do this, that will happen, then that, then it will lead to war”. No, this does not necessarily lead to that. You’re making it falsely sound that way.
Ex: “If you do say no to foreign intervention, no country will ever support us again, and the enemy will invade us in less than a month”. Not necessarily true… It sounds delusional and unrealistic.
13. Illogical association of behavior
This is often used by manipulative people to have things their way or manipulate truths.
Ex: “If those protesters really loved their country, they wouldn’t question the government”. What does loving the country have to do with questioning the government? One can love his/her country and still question the government if it’s not performing well.
Ex: “If you love me you’ll do this for me”. No, if I don’t do this it doesn’t mean I don’t love you.
14. Creating a false dilemma by using either/or choices, when in fact there can be other solutions as well
Ex. “We can either agree with person X’s solution, or just let the problem continue. There is no other option”. Wrong, there’s always another option and other ways to solve the problem. It’s never either this or that. 1 problem can have several different correct solutions.
Ex. “Either accept my proposal or say goodbye to civil rest”. No, your proposal is not the only one that works. There can be other solutions and proposals that work even better… You just need to think of them, be open to ideas, and give them a chance.
15. Not being open to negotiation or discussion
Shutting down a discussion by saying that certain beliefs are the only acceptable ones is an unacceptable form of manipulation, bullying, or power abuse.
Ex. “We’re keeping our guns, end of discussion”. You can’t peacefully co-exist if you don’t communicate and discuss such topics.
Ex. “This topic is non-negotiable”. No. Everything is negotiable once you change your attitude into an open-minded cooperative one.
Ex. “X is a red line”. No. The people are the “red line”.
16. Guilt by association: Just because your associate is bad, doesn’t mean you’re bad
Ex. “His friend is a liar, so he’s also a liar”. Not necessarily, but it’s tricky, because birds of a feather usually flock together. Always base your judgments and statements on concrete proof.
Ex. Person X committed a crime. Person Y is his friend. If person Y had no idea about his friend’s crime, it’s not fair to say that he’s a bad person. However, if person Y knew about his friend’s crime and is helping cover it up or not saying anything about it, even though he didn’t personally commit the crime, it makes person Y a bad person too.
17. Using personal attacks Instead of answering an argument or addressing a problem
Ex. Politicians reply to an argument made by a foe by personally attacking them instead of answering their argument…
Ex. Person X says that person Y is not qualified to be a minister. Person Y responds with a personal attack saying “Well you are not qualified either”. No one was suggesting that person X should be minister, and these 2 men are not the only solutions! A 3rd or 4th person could be the solution.
18. A high number of random or irrelevant facts or doesn’t make it relevant or true
Ex. Just because person X has more followers, more years of experience, and university degrees doesn’t mean he’s a better fit to be a minister. If person X is corrupt, selfish, stupid or incompetent, a person Y who’s more ethical, smarter, but has less followers, experience and degrees is a much better choice to be the minister.
19. False judgment & classification based on inadequate evidence: “They’re this, so they’re that”
Ex. “They’re against us so they must be backed by foreign countries or the enemy”. Just because they’re different than you doesn’t mean they’re bad or they’re backed by the enemy. I repeat: Just because they’re different than you doesn’t mean they’re the enemy.
Ex. “They’re spending lots of money so they must be funded by foreign embassies”. This is a personal attack/false claim and a bad judgment.
Ex: Just because he looks Asian doesn’t mean he’s Chinese.
Ex: Just because he speaks good English doesn’t mean he’s American.
20. Lies, wordplay and hiding the truth
Ex. If they say “I did not steal” it doesn’t mean they didn’t help someone else steal. Or maybe they didn’t physically steal but made some corrupt deals, and in their conscience, they don’t define that as “stealing”, so they confidently and with a clear conscience claim that they’re not thieves.
21. Fake claims to downplay a counterargument
Ex. If you didn’t know a solution existed, and someone came up with a solution, don’t downplay their solution by making false claims that question their credibility as a source.
Ex. Person X is suggesting that we get the help of country A. Person Y, who is not an ally of country A, says “No true patriot enlists the help of another country”. Just because person X is suggesting a solution that involves help from another country, it doesn’t make him not a patriot. And just because person Y is saying that rule, doesn’t make it true. He’s just making person X look bad.
Ex. “If you’re with them, not with us, then you’re a traitor”. NO. Just because someone has a different solution or opinion than you, it doesn’t make them a traitor, and it’s not you who defines or judges people.
22. Stating false things as “needs”
Ex. “You need our presence or the country will be attacked”. No, not necessarily. There is no proof for that.
Ex. “You need this person in that position so that the economy will remain stable”. No, not necessarily. Others can also do the same job, and even better probably.
Ex. “You need to buy this axe to survive the zombie apocalypse”. There is no zombie apocalypse, and even if there was, I don’t need this axe to survive, I have other means.
23. Just because it worked once, doesn’t mean it’ll always work
Ex. “I opened a bookshop and it succeeded, so opening a bookshop it easy”. No, you had your circumstances, and not everyone who opens a bookshop will succeed, so that doesn’t make it easy.
24. Just because you succeed at something doesn’t mean you succeed at everything
Ex. Michael Jordan was the best basketball player, but he didn’t really succeed at golf.
Ex. A minister who succeeded in a certain ministry might not be fit or succeed at another one that’s not his specialty.
25. Just because it worked for them, doesn’t mean it’ll work for you
Ex. “All you need is 1 hour of gym a week and you’ll lose 2 kg”. False, body types are different, so what works for 1 person might not necessarily work for another, and doesn’t make that solution the best one.
Ex. “This movie is funny because I watched it and it made me laugh”. This is not necessarily true, because someone else might have a different sense of humor and might not find the movie funny.
Ex. “Country X introduced these new traffic lights and it worked out for them so it will work out for us”. False, people in Lebanon are different than in other countries because they unfortunately don’t really follow rules, and rules aren’t really enforced here, so what worked in another country might not necessarily work well for us. The nature and circumstances are different, and solutions have to be customized to fit each situation and environment.
26. Just because you don’t understand it or expect it, it doesn’t mean it’s not true or there’s something wrong with it
Ex. “I don’t understand how people have come together in solidarity and funded their own revolution, so there must have been another factor at play such as foreign embassies.
27. Always doubting and questioning motives
Ex. “Yeah he’s just saying that to gain votes”. No, not necessarily true.
Ex. “Yeah, he proposed a solution that might be possible, but what is his real motive?”. There is none. Not everyone is evil, and not everyone has ulterior motives
28. Just because something is a tradition, it doesn’t make it right
Ex. Just because forced marriage was once a tradition, doesn’t make it right.
Ex. Just because you’re used to this politician and he’s been there for years, doesn’t make him the right person to stay in rule.
29. Just because you don’t see it, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist
Ex. Air and oxygen – you can’t see them but they do exist.
Ex. Viruses and microbes – you can’t see them but they do exist.
Ex. Gravity – you can’t see it but does exist.
Ex. Aliens – you can’t see them, but they might actually exist… It hasn’t been proven yet, which brings us to the below mistake.
30. Just because someone hasn’t proved its existence/validity or non-existence/invalidity, doesn’t make it true
This is often a topic of debate among believers and atheists.
Ex. “Can you prove God exists?” vs “Can you prove God doesn’t exist?” (and then the next debate or fight is over definitions and what acceptable proof is).
Ex. “This person is guilty because no one has proven he’s innocent”. No, not necessarily, and it also works the other way around:
Ex. “This person is innocent because no one has proven he’s guilty”.
It’s not fair to come up with a conclusion if no sufficient proof was presented. There are some things you can’t prove, so it’s best not to make judgments about them. You can state opinions, ex: “I believe person X is…”, or “in my opinion, person X is…” but it’s not fair to make statements like “person X is…”.
31. Just because someone bad said or did it, doesn’t mean it’s bad
Ex. Just because the enemy created traffic laws, doesn’t mean traffic laws are bad.
Ex. Just because your opponent is offering some financial aid to the country, doesn’t mean it’s bad.
Final Note
Now that you’re aware of these mistakes and fallacies, try not to fall into them, especially when talking with others or when posting statuses and comments on social media. When you hear politicians or other people using these fallacies or making these errors, point them out, or try to educate the people about them.
Help us make a change by sharing this article with someone who might benefit from it or someone who’s guilty of often committing these mistakes. You can also subscribe to this blog to receive email notifications when we publish similar articles every now and then. The aim is to spread awareness, make a small positive impact, and make the world a slightly better place person by person.
Source and suggested readings/videos:
If you’d like to learn more about fallacies and about their technical names, here are links to some suggested articles and videos about the topic:
Article: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/common-logical-fallacies
Article: https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/classical-rhetoric-101-logical-fallacies/
Video (Arabic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E33lo1GRvXE
Video (Arabic Subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bjCOXgHfnE
PDF: https://bit.ly/3dhiMge
