Logical fallacies

the fallacy fallacy

Their argument was bad. Their conclusion might still be right.

  • “You used a straw man, so you’re wrong about the deadline.”

    “Your reasoning was bad. Is the deadline still slipping?”

    Bad arguments and false conclusions are different failures.

Spotting a fallacy tells you the argument doesn’t establish the conclusion. It tells you nothing about whether the conclusion is true—that still needs checking separately.

This one matters most on a page like this. Knowing the names makes it tempting to treat naming one as a win. It isn’t. It just means that particular argument didn’t work.

Now go check whether they were right anyway.