TYPES OF INFORMAL FALLACY

1. Argumentum ad Hominem (Argument against

the Person)
2. Argumentum ad Baculum ( Appeal to force)
3. Argumentum ad Misericordiam (Appeal to pity)
4. Argumentum ad Populum (Bandwagon fallacy)
5. Argumentum ad Verecundiam (Appeal to
authority)
6. Argumentum ad Ignoratiam (Appeal to
ignorance)
7. Ignoratorio Elenchi (Irrelevant conclusion)
 TYPES OF INFORMAL FALLACY
1. Argumentum ad Hominem (Argument against
the Person)
2. Argumentum ad Baculum ( Appeal to force)
3. Argumentum ad Misericordiam (Appeal to pity)
4. Argumentum ad Populum (Bandwagon fallacy)
 This is a fallacy used when people convince others
that someone’s argument should be rejected because of
the person’s personal background. This argument is
considered fallacious because the rightness or
wrongness of a claim should not be affected by the
background of the person claiming it.
Example:
1. A politician arguing that his opponent cannot
possibly be a good choice for women because
he has a religious conviction that causes him to
be a pro-life.
2. A lawyer who argues that his client should not
be held responsible for theft because he is
poor.
3. A parent who says that the teacher doesn’t
know how to teach because she graduated
from a community college.
 This is an argument used by people who want to
win a conflict by issuing threats to their opponents.
Reasoning is replaced by force, which results in the
termination of logical argumentation, and elicits other
kinds of behavior (such as fear, anger, reciprocal use of
force, etc.)
Example:
Teacher: If you do not agree with my political
opinions, you will receive a grade of F for this
course.
Student: I believe that Herbert Hoover was the
greatest President in the United States.

 Therefore, Herbert Hoover was the greatest

President of the United States.
 This fallacy is also called appeal to emotion.
It is an argument used by people who want to win
people over by manipulating their emotions. An
appeal to pity tries to win acceptance by pointing
out the unfortunate consequences that will
otherwise fall upon the speaker and others, for
whom we would feel then sorry.
Example:
• I am a single parent, solely responsible for the
financial support of my children.
• If you give me this traffic ticket, I will lose my
license and be unable to drive to work.
• If I connat work, my children and I will become
homeless and may starve to death.
• Therefore, you should not give me this traffic
ticket.
 This fallacious argument is a favorite
marketing strategy by advertising agencies. It is
used by appealing to the popular sentiment of the
public. If they want their product to sell, they will
get the most popular personalities to model their
product. This results to fans and avid followers of
those personalities buying the product.
Example: