Argumentation is an essential life skill.
Preface: Bad Arguments That Subtly Deceive Us
Glossary of terms needed for logic classes

Chapter 1 That's not the point

How can you believe a drunkard's words!
Ad Hominem-Abusive
I guess you're saying that for permission.
Ad Hominem-Circumstantial Argument
If Hitler believed it, I would reject it.
Ad Hominem-Guilt by Association
Isn't it the same for you?
The interpersonal argument of the long wavelength of the skin Ad Hominem-Tu Quoque
Please keep talking, I'm very curious.
Appeal to Ridicule
But, you know
Shoehorning
Are you saying that's not something I should know?
Red Herring
But you shouldn't swear at me
Use-Mention Error

Chapter 2: Plausible False Claims

Cigarettes are harmful, so let's ban e-cigarettes too.
False Analogy
I see you're coughing, so you must be seriously ill.
Affirming the Consequent
Since (a+bn)/n=x, God exists
Non Sequitur
If there are no ghosts, then present the evidence.
Proving Non-Existence
People always put their own interests first, because people are always selfish.
Begging the Question
There is no mistake, He is never wrong.
Circular Reasoning
Don't worry about the robbers, I'm a black belt
Ludic Fallacy
Banning drunk driving won't eliminate traffic accidents.
Nirvana Fallacy

Chapter 3 There's a trap in words

Don't you hit your wife anymore?
Complex Question
If you're not married, how about a drink?
False Dilemma
If evolution is true, how come there are monkeys?
Straw Man Argument
Why don't you tell the baby to be a bartender?
Reductio ad Absurdum
If abortion is allowed, euthanasia will eventually increase.
Slippery Slope
If you're a short basketball player, you're probably short.
Ambiguity
No man can kill me
Equivocation
I kept my promise, but I still have to pay more.
Moving the Goalposts

Chapter 4: A Cunning Deception Disguised as Logic

You can drink a lot and still live a long life, like my grandfather.
Hasty Generalization
Let's all stand and watch the game because we can see the game better if we stand up.
Fallacy of Composition
The haystack is heavy, so a single strand of hay will be heavy too.
Fallacy of Division
Cell phone base stations cause brain tumors.
Multiple Comparisons Fallacy
The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Constitution.
Cherry Picking
Healing cancer patients through the power of prayer
Base Rate
Polls show Hillary will win
Biased Sample
Men think about sex every six seconds
Fake Precision
Perpetrators of male violence are 100% men, therefore men are violent.
Lying With Stats

Chapter 5: How to Deal with Illogicality

No? That's the proof.
Self-Sealing Argument
If I tell you to do it, do it
Just Because I Said So
Everyone has to go to war, except my son.
Special Pleading
It doesn't seem like we have much sin.
Spiritual Fallacy
Thanks to your fervent prayers
Unfalsifiability
Is there any evidence that aliens don't exist?
Argument from Ignorance
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
Appeal to Possibility
We put a man on the moon, so we can cure cancer.
Appeal to the Moon
Hitler was also a vegetarian.
Reductio ad Hitlerum

Chapter 6 Don't Be Swayed by Emotions

And yet you are human?
Appeal to Emotion
Immigrants will take all our jobs.
Appeal to Anger
Are you going to punish me for being an orphan?
Appeal to Pity
Muslims are terrorists and should be banned from entering the country.
Appeal to Fear
If you smoke marijuana, you should definitely go to jail.
Appeal to Desperation
How much money did I invest!
Sunk Cost

Chapter 7 Good is not good enough

If you step on gold, something bad will happen.
Magical Thinking
Since ancient times, women have been good at housework.
Appeal to Tradition
Homosexuality is not natural
Appeal to Nature
It's natural for the strong to rule over the weak.
Naturalistic Fallacy
Because everyone is equal
Moralistic Fallacy
Everyone says it's good, but why are you the only one?
Appeal to Normality

Chapter 8: Responding to Blind Faith

The doctors on TV told me not to eat it.
Anonymous Authority
My dad said that's a lie
Appeal to Authority
Jennifer Aniston says L'Oreal shampoo is the best.
Appeal to Celebrity
If everyone believed that the sun revolved around the earth
Appeal to Common Belief
Nothing will happen because he protects me.
Appeal to Faith
That was God's command
Appeal to Heaven
Our president said
Blind Authority

Meetings with bosses who can't communicate, TV debates between politicians who can't communicate, dinners where voices are raised...
Have you ever been left speechless by someone's strange logic?
The art of laughing and responding to the world's illogicality pouring down on me

“If evolution is true, how can there be monkeys?”

This is the question posed by opponents who were not pleased with Charles Darwin's theory of evolution when he presented it to the world.
This question may seem plausible at first glance, but it reeks of illogicality.
This question assumes that evolutionary theory is based on two premises: first, that humans evolved from monkeys, and second, that when evolution occurs, previous species become extinct.

But evolutionary theory does not have this assumption.
The theory of evolution states that monkeys and humans came from a common ancestor, that existing monkeys did not evolve into humans, and that evolution does not necessarily require the extinction of previous species.
In the end, opponents distorted the theory of evolution as they pleased, set it up like a scarecrow, and beat it, pretending to refute the theory of evolution itself.
This logical trick is called the 'straw man argument fallacy'.

These logical fallacies have appeared in every important debate throughout history, and they still do today.
From hype-filled advertisements that fill smartphone screens, to community bulletin boards overflowing with propaganda, to inconsistent news articles, to the simmering debates between politicians, to the raucous chatter of the news, even at dinner tables, deception disguised as logic rears its ugly head.
Logic is inseparable from our daily lives as long as people do not stop living together.

So people who are insensitive to logical tricks often find themselves in difficult situations.
Even though you know that what the other person said is wrong, you just have to drink cold water and blush.
Immature logical thinking can be fatal when it becomes a social phenomenon.
People can be deceived by exaggerated advertising and end up buying low-quality products at high prices, public opinion can be distorted by fake news, and faulty political judgments can lead entire members of society in the wrong direction.

Logic is an essential skill for everyday life.
"Logic Class: A Weapon for Everyday Life" is a book that condenses practical logic knowledge needed in everyday life.
Michael Withey, the author of this book and a doctor of philosophy, has the power to present classical knowledge from the time of Aristotle as practical knowledge relevant to today's readers.
In each chapter, one logical error is addressed through the stages of 'specific case - logical flaw - how to respond - deeper understanding', accurately pointing out only the core.
In particular, it helps readers easily apply it to reality by providing vivid examples that occur around us.
So, this book is a practical logic guidebook that helps you counterattack when strange logic leaves you speechless.


COVID-19 is rapidly ushering us into a contactless era.
With so many people sharing their opinions and information online, and the sheer volume of information simultaneously increasing at a rapid pace, it's becoming increasingly difficult to discern the truth.
In times like these, we may blindly trust the words of authority figures or find the debate itself tiresome due to information overload.
But the judgment of others will not protect you.
If you don't want to become a slave to false beliefs, you must learn the rules of logic and understand your opponent's moves.
That's how you protect yourself from the tricky words of the world.

A short and simple explanation of how logical fallacies work.
The logic of the right place at the right time is shown at a glance.

This book divides errors that can be encountered in everyday life into eight types.
Chapter 1 mainly deals with errors that deviate from the point of view.
A representative example is 'personal attack', which involves insulting the person making the argument or weakening the argument by bringing in something related to that person.
However, a person's character cannot affect the truth of an argument or the validity of a reasoning.


Chapter 2 is about errors that deceive people with plausible false grounds.
This includes 'consequential affirmation', which proves something by presenting an unrelated result as evidence, 'proof of non-existence', which claims that something exists based on the inability to prove its non-existence, and 'circular argument', which uses the argument as evidence.
It should be pointed out that at this point the evidence relies on the superficial similarity of the cases, and that the cases are in fact not similar.

Chapter 3 explores the logic that contains traps in speech.
These include 'complex questions' that assume a premise that the respondent cannot accept in the question itself, 'straw man arguments' that distort the opponent's argument and then attack it, and reductio ad absurdum that refutes the opponent's argument by deriving an absurd conclusion from it.

Chapter 4 deals with clever tricks disguised as logic.
This includes 'hasty generalization', where a general rule is forcibly inferred from only a small number of cases, and 'combination fallacy', where if it is true in an individual part, it is also true in the whole, which is the combination of the parts.

Chapter 5 shows a type of logicless argument that makes refutation itself impossible: the "source-cutting argument," which simply dismisses objections.
This is the 'spiritual error' of considering a claim that could be called a prophecy to have been fulfilled in a spiritual sense.


Chapter 6 introduces the types of persuasion that appeal to emotions.
It is rationalizing the conclusion by instilling anger, resentment, resentment, pity, guilt, desperation, and fear.
At this point, you should point out that not only are such things irrelevant to the argument, but the other person's solution is ineffective.

Chapter 7 exposes the flaws in logic that rely on convention or prejudice.
This is the case with 'invoking tradition', which argues based on what has been traditionally believed, and 'invoking normal conditions', which judges whether something is normal or not.

Chapter 8 challenges the logic that the public blindly believes.
Through examples of rationalizing arguments based on anonymous authorities, celebrities, popular belief, and blind authority, it shows how mindless obedience to authority makes people prey.

Just as grammar is essential for conversation, we must learn logic for communication.

These are the words of Henry Chang, president of the Yale University Debate Society and author of the book's recommendation.
We encounter arguments on a daily basis.
At this point, if you don't know the rules of logic and what your opponent's numbers are, you will be helpless and have no choice but to suffer.
Logic is an essential skill for life.
Once you have the rules of logic ingrained in you, you can instinctively recognize clever arguments.
And to become proficient at logical thinking, you absolutely need the right instruction manual.
"Logic Class: A Weapon for Everyday Life" will be the world's easiest guide to mastering the rules and tactics of argumentation.