Introduction Typically, in discussions of why should one whether or not believe in god, Pascals Wager is offered by the believer as a decisive reason against non-belief. Most of the time, your garden-variety believer is unaware that they are invoking Pascal's Wager when they do. Pascal's Wager...

Humans are quite naturally uncomfortable with ignorance. We are curious animals, evolved with an ability to reason and to discover insight into the phenomena that we find ourselves perplexed and enveloped in. Nature does not willingly yield her secrets to us. And while science can penetrate into some...

With the introduction of industrialization to society, we have become nations of specialists. No longer are we generalists whose sole task is survival. We have become niche workers in specialized fields. The more demanding the position, the more training and experience required. A person today can not...

You are likely to find this fallacy in matters of governmental policy or as positive evidence for a belief. (Usually theistic.) It is always offered as reason why you should either subscribe to a particular belief or hold a specific position. As always, the following analysis is not meant to be complete...

Remember when you were a kid staring at the clouds looking for shapes or faces of people you knew? Do you also recall that if someone did not point out a familiar shape, you were blind to it until they did so? Pareidolia is a type of apophenia , and is not a fallacy of reasoning but a fallacy in perception...

Political debate is fertile ground for this fallacy. Heck, just about any arena of debate is a perfect breeding ground. Again, the following analysis is not meant to the definitive work on the subject. Defined The ad hominem is the classic fallacy of attack the messenger and not the message . When someone...

Introduction The Straw Man fallacy is often committed by creationists in their defense of a literal creation by a supernatural agency when attempting to refute evolution. This fallacy can be quite effective - if you are not on guard for it, or do not understand or aware of the opponents position. Defined...

Political debate is rife with this one, and I've been the subject and a focus of this type of attack countless times at LCL.com. I thought it would be helpful to make it the focus of this weeks fallacy. Again, this article is not meant to be the exhaustive work on the subject. Defined Poisoning of...

In recent discussions with my fellow, passionate, bloggers, it has come to my attention that there are some misunderstanding and confusion of what it means to support your claims. So, I'd like to help my fellow bloggers and readers to understand what it means when you have the burden of proof. I'll...