The Importance of Recognizing Fallacies

The Appeal to Popularity is just one simple example of a logical fallacy. There are hundreds of others, and once you learn to recognize them, you will start to see logical fallacies all around you. They are used by politicians, celebrities, advertisers, salespeople and even your own friends and family. Some people use them intentionally to manipulate you, and others use them without even realizing it.

Whatever the motivaitons behind them, logical fallacies can mislead you to believe things that aren't true and to make decisions that might harm you or someone that you care about. What if you were mislead into choosing the wrong medical treatment for a loved one with a serious condition? Or if you paid a lot of money for a diet plan that didn't work? If you learn to quickly recognize logical fallacies then you can catch many of these deceptions .

Let's try spotting a few more appeals to popularity.