Quote:
Poisoning the Well
Description
Attempts to discredit what a person's claim by producing unsavory information related to said person. The persons using this fallacious reasoning does so to bias others to against the person in question leading others to dismiss said person's argument. It is preemptive, in that it is made before the argument is made.
Example:
Ginevra Weasley: Ooh, that Skeeter is a Scarlet Woman! She is a foul little bug that will do anything to get a story!
Hermione Granger: Definitely!
Rita Skeeter: Oliver Wood, Puddlemore United Reserve Trainer, uses Ultra Max deodorant.
Hermione Granger: Obviously she is lying.
Ginevra Weasley: Yeah, she'll do anything for a story.
Related Fallacies:
ad hominem
Quote:
Wishful Thinking
Description:
Asserts that because one wishes for something to be true, it is.
Example:
I want there to be something after death. Otherwise, life is depressing. Therefore, there is life after death.
Related fallacies:
Argumentum ad Consequentiam
