Case file
Argument from Fallacy
- Filed under
- Not Enough Meaning
- Also recorded as
- fallacist's fallacy
The charge
Argument from fallacy is rejecting a conclusion simply because one argument for it is flawed.
How it operates
Once people spot bad reasoning, they often stop evaluating whether the conclusion could still be true for better reasons.
Logged incidents
- Incident 01
A board dismisses a real market shift because the supporting deck used a weak analogy.
- Incident 02
A manager ignores a true bug report because the reporter guessed the wrong cause.
- Incident 03
A recruiter rejects a strong candidate because the referral pitch was exaggerated.
What to watch for
Ask: Is the conclusion false, or did I only show that one path to it was weak?
Recommended action
Separate claim evaluation from argument evaluation and steelman the best version of the claim.
Known associates
- Group Attribution ErrorGroup attribution error is assuming what is true of one member is true of the whole group, or that…
- Ultimate Attribution ErrorUltimate attribution error is interpreting your own group's bad behavior as situational but another group's…
- StereotypingStereotyping is assigning traits or likely behavior to an individual based mainly on group membership.
- EssentialismEssentialism is believing categories of people or things have a deep fixed essence that explains how they…
- Functional FixednessFunctional fixedness is seeing an object, team, or process only in its usual role and missing other workable…
- Moral Credential EffectMoral credential effect is using a past moral act as psychological permission to behave less ethically later.
Source of record