Evidential/Methodological Fallacy: Logical Fallacy Family

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Evidential/Methodological Fallacy

The mistake lies in how evidence is gathered, weighed, interpreted, or treated as sufficient.

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20 fallacies in this family.

Quick family question

What evidence is missing, cherry-picked, stretched, or treated as stronger than it is?

Family vs. category

A family is the broad umbrella that gives a fallacy its main home. Categories are the narrower diagnostic tags, so the same fallacy can appear in multiple categories while still belonging to one family.

Absence of evidence fallacy

Occurs when someone treats a failure to find expected evidence as if it counted for nothing against the claim, even in a context where the claim should leave detectable t...

Evidential

Intermediate High school

Absence of evidence fallacy companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when someone treats a failure to find expected evidence as if it counted for nothing against the claim, even in a context where the claim should leave detectable traces.

Argument from fallacy

Occurs when someone infers that because a particular argument for a conclusion is weak or fallacious, the conclusion itself must therefore be false.

Evidential

Intermediate High school

Argument from fallacy companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when someone infers that because a particular argument for a conclusion is weak or fallacious, the conclusion itself must therefore be false.

Argument from ignorance

Occurs when someone concludes that a claim is true because it has not been disproved, or false because it has not been proved.

Evidential

Intermediate High school

Argument from ignorance companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when someone concludes that a claim is true because it has not been disproved, or false because it has not been proved.

Argument from incredulity

Occurs when someone treats their inability to imagine, explain, or believe a claim as evidence that the claim must be false, or conversely true.

EpistemicEvidential

Intermediate Intro college

Argument from incredulity companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when someone treats their inability to imagine, explain, or believe a claim as evidence that the claim must be false, or conversely true.

Argument from silence

Occurs when a claim is treated as validated because opponents, authorities, or witnesses did not deny it, respond to it, or mention it.

Evidential

Intermediate High school

Argument from silence companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when a claim is treated as validated because opponents, authorities, or witnesses did not deny it, respond to it, or mention it.

Bare assertion fallacy

Occurs when a contested claim is simply asserted, often confidently, without the evidence needed to justify it.

EvidentialTactical

Intermediate High school

Bare assertion fallacy companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when a contested claim is simply asserted, often confidently, without the evidence needed to justify it.

Cherry picking

Occurs when someone selects only the evidence that supports a conclusion and ignores a wider body of evidence that weakens, qualifies, or reverses it.

TacticalEvidential

Foundational Middle school+

Cherry picking companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when someone selects only the evidence that supports a conclusion and ignores a wider body of evidence that weakens, qualifies, or reverses it.

Demanding a mechanism

Occurs when strong evidence for a phenomenon is rejected solely because the underlying mechanism is still incomplete, disputed, or not yet fully understood.

Evidential

Intermediate High school

Demanding a mechanism companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when strong evidence for a phenomenon is rejected solely because the underlying mechanism is still incomplete, disputed, or not yet fully understood.

Demanding negative proof

Occurs when someone tries to protect a claim by insisting that critics must prove the claim false instead of the claimant first supplying adequate support.

TacticalEvidential

Intermediate High school

Demanding negative proof companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when someone tries to protect a claim by insisting that critics must prove the claim false instead of the claimant first supplying adequate support.

Denial of the epistemic gradient

Occurs when belief is forced into crude either-or boxes even though the evidence supports a range of confidence levels rather than a single sharp threshold.

EpistemicEvidential

Intermediate Intro college

Denial of the epistemic gradient companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when belief is forced into crude either-or boxes even though the evidence supports a range of confidence levels rather than a single sharp threshold.

Epistemic/ontological conflation

Occurs when the psychological or social effects of believing something are treated as evidence that the thing believed in actually exists or is true.

ConceptualEvidentialEpistemic

Intermediate Intro college

Epistemic/ontological conflation companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when the psychological or social effects of believing something are treated as evidence that the thing believed in actually exists or is true.

False attribution

Occurs when support for a claim is borrowed from a source that is fabricated, misquoted, unqualified, anonymous in the wrong way, or otherwise not what it is presented to...

EvidentialTactical

Intermediate High school

False attribution companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when support for a claim is borrowed from a source that is fabricated, misquoted, unqualified, anonymous in the wrong way, or otherwise not what it is presented to be.

Impotent logical space

Occurs when a view is framed so every possible outcome fits it equally well, leaving no meaningful room for the claim to fail.

EvidentialConceptual

Intermediate High school

Impotent logical space companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when a view is framed so every possible outcome fits it equally well, leaving no meaningful room for the claim to fail.

Negative proof fallacy

Occurs when a claim is treated as true because it has not been disproved, or false because it has not been proved.

Formal

Advanced Advanced undergraduate

Negative proof fallacy companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when a claim is treated as true because it has not been disproved, or false because it has not been proved.

Piggy-back assumption

Occurs when evidence for one claim is illegitimately used as if it also confirmed a second claim that merely travels alongside it.

Evidential

Intermediate High school

Piggy-back assumption companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when evidence for one claim is illegitimately used as if it also confirmed a second claim that merely travels alongside it.

Proof by example

Occurs when one or a few examples are offered as if they were enough to establish a universal claim.

ConceptualEvidential

Intermediate Intro college

Proof by example companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when one or a few examples are offered as if they were enough to establish a universal claim.

Redeeming illogic with evidence

Occurs when someone demands empirical evidence before rejecting a concept that is already incoherent, self-contradictory, or logically impossible on its own terms.

Evidential

Intermediate High school

Redeeming illogic with evidence companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when someone demands empirical evidence before rejecting a concept that is already incoherent, self-contradictory, or logically impossible on its own terms.

Special pleading

Occurs when someone asks for an exception to a rule or standard but does not provide a relevant reason for why the favored case should be exempt.

EvidentialConceptual

Intermediate High school

Special pleading companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when someone asks for an exception to a rule or standard but does not provide a relevant reason for why the favored case should be exempt.

Track-record reset

Occurs when each new claim is treated as if the relevant history of prior failures, hoaxes, or false alarms did not exist and should confer no default expectation at all.

Evidential

Intermediate High school

Track-record reset companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when each new claim is treated as if the relevant history of prior failures, hoaxes, or false alarms did not exist and should confer no default expectation at all.

Witness chain

Occurs when testimony is padded by unverifiable references to other alleged witnesses, creating the illusion of corroboration without actually providing independent suppo...

EvidentialConceptual

Intermediate High school

Witness chain companion poster in a retro mid-century editorial cartoon style, illustrating occurs when testimony is padded by unverifiable references to other alleged witnesses, creating the illusion of corroboration without actually providing independent support.