"Argument":
Bob:        The death penalty is immoral.
Susan:      No, it isn't.
Bob:        Yes, it is! Judges who gve the death penalty should be impeached.
Susan:     You don't even know how the death penalty is decided.
Bob:        I know a lot more than you do.
Susan:     I can't talk to you; you are a idiot.

Definition:
Logic is the study of the methods and principles of reasoning.
Premises are assumptions.
An argument uses premises to support a conclusion.
A fallacy is a deceptive argument, i.e. an argument where the conclusion is not supported by the premises.

Examples:

"Ford makes the best automobile in America. After all, more people drive Fords than any other American car."

Premise:         More people drive Fords than any other American car.
Conclusion:    Ford makes the best automobile in America.

"I placed a quartz crystal on my forehead, and in five minutes my headache was gone. The crystal made my headache go away."

Premise: 1.    I placed a quartz crystal on my forehead.
              2.    In five minutes my headache was gone.
Conclusion:   The crystal made my headache go away.

"Scientists have not found any concrete evidence od aliens visiting Earth.Therefore, anyone who claims to have seen a UFO must be hallucinating."

Premise:       There is no proof that aliens visited the Earth.
Conclusion:   Aliens have not visited Earth.

"On my travel in Scotland I saw black sheep out of the train window. All sheep in Scotland are black"

Premise:        On my travel in Scotland I saw black sheep out of the train window.
Conclusion:   All sheep in Scotland are black.

Premise:         You don't support the President.
Conclusion:    You are not a patriotic American.

Premise:        You love your baby.
Conclusion:   You should buy Michelin tires.

Premise:         Gwen occasionally drinks too much.
Conclusion:    Whatever Gwen says about drinking is false.

Premise:          The needy have a right to the resources of the community.
Conclusion:     Society has an obligation to shelter the homeless.

Premise:         Genetics funding is related to ethics. And here is an argument relating to ethics: "Ethics is at the heart of our society, and we cannot afford to have too may ethical loose ends."
Conclusion:    We should not continue to fund genetic research.

Analysis: Mr Buckley does not advocate drug use. His argument may be based on reasons like the crime rate, the cost of policing and the consistency of  and respect for the law.
The speaker misrepresents Mr Buckley and then proceeds to knock down the distorted argument.

1. appeal to authority:   A is an authority on the subject and A says p is true, therefore p is true.
2. appeal to belief, tradition, common practice,
3. appeal to force (consequences): do it or else (there might be disagreeable consequences).
4. division: if p is true for combined entity A, it must be true for all its component pieces.(this is a generalization of hasty generalization)
5. slippery slope: Event X has occurred (or will or might occur),  therefore event Y will inevitably happen. (this is a generalization of false cause)
6. special pleading:  Person A accepts standard(s) S and applies them to others in circumtance(s) C, Person A is in circumstance(s) C, therefore A is exempt from S.
7. two wrongs make a right: It is claimed that person B would do X to person A, thus it is acceptable for person A to do X to person B (when A's doing X to B is not necessary to prevent B from doing X to A).
8. prejudicial language: loaded or emotive terms are used to attach value or moral goodness to believing the proposition or suspicion or dislike to the opposing position.
9. weak analogy: Many arguments rely on an analogy between two or more objects, ideas, or situations. If the two things that are being compared aren't really alike in the relevant respects, the analogy is a weak one, and the argument that relies on it commits the fallacy of weak analogy.
10. equivocation: is a sliding between two or more different meanings of a single word or phrase that is important to the argument
11. complex question: Two otherwise unrelated points are treated as a single proposition. The reader is expected to accept or reject both together, when in reality one may be acceptable while the other is not. A complex question is an illegitimate use of the "and" operator.

• "My roommate said her philosophy class was hard, and the one I'm in is hard, too. All philosophy classes must be hard!"
• "The seriousness of a punishment should match the seriousness of the crime. Right now, the punishment for drunk driving may simply be a fine. But drunk driving is a very serious crime that can kill innocent people. So the death penalty should be the punishment for drunk driving."
• "Gay marriages are just immoral. 70% of Americans think so!"
• America: love it or leave it.
• Since scientists have not proven that global warming will occur, therefore it won't.
• "We should abolish the death penalty. Many respected people, such as actor Guy Handsome, have publicly stated their opposition to it."
• "President Jones raised taxes, and then the rate of violent crime went up. Jones is responsible for the rise in crime."/
•  
• "Andrea Dworkin has written several books arguing that pornography harms women. But Dworkin is an ugly, bitter person, so you shouldn't listen to her."
• The defendant ought to be found innocent because if he isn't, there will be a riot and many innocent citizens will be hurt or killed.
• "Guns are like hammers.they're both tools with metal parts that could be used to kill someone. And yet it would be ridiculous to restrict the purchase of hammers.so restrictions on purchasing guns are equally ridiculous."
• "People have been trying for centuries to prove that God exists. But no one has yet been able to prove it. Therefore, God does not exist."
• "Feminists want to ban all pornography and punish everyone who reads it! But such harsh measures are surely inappropriate, so the feminists are wrong: porn and its readers should be left in peace."
• You say I should give up alcohol, but you haven't been sober for more than a year yourself.
• Have you stopped beating your wife?
• "You know, I've begun to think that there is some merit in the Republican's tax cut plan. I suggest that you come up with something like it, because If we Democrats are going to survive as a party, we have got to show that we are as tough-minded as the Republicans, since that is what the public wants."
• ".[N]ot one of 800 sexologists at a recent conference raised a hand when asked if they would trust a thin rubber sheath to protect them during intercourse with a known HIV infected person. . And yet they're perfectly willing to tell our kids that "safe sex" is within reach and that they can sleep around with impunity."(James Dobson)
• The proposal is likely to be resisted by the bureaucrats on Capitol Hill.
• "Animal experimentation reduces our respect for life. If we don't respect life, we are likely to be more and more tolerant of violent acts like war and murder. Soon our society will become a battlefield in which everyone constantly fears for their lives. It will be the end of civilization. To prevent this terrible consequence, we should make animal experimentation illegal right now."
• "Giving money to charity is the right thing to do. So charities have a right to our money."
• "Caldwell Hall is in bad shape. Either we tear it down and put up a new building, or we continue to risk students' safety. Obviously we shouldn't risk anyone's safety, so we must tear the building down."
• "If I fail English 101, I won't be able to graduate. If I don't graduate, I probably won't be able to get a good job, and I may very well end up doing temp work or flipping burgers for the next year."
• "Active euthanasia is morally acceptable. It is a decent, ethical thing to help another human being escape suffering through death."
• You should never gamble. Once you start gambling you find it hard to stop. Soon you are spending all your money on gambling, and eventually you will turn to crime to support your earnings.
• Do you support freedom and the right to bear arms?
• You had better agree that the new company policy is the best if you expect to keep your job.
• You ALWAYS win these arguments. Can't you let me win just this once?
• You must believe in God, otherwise life would have no meaning.
• Not only is paying a higher income tax a patriotic duty, it is also a sacred obligation.
• Everyone knows that the Earth is flat, so why do you persist in your outlandish claims?
• We should disregard Fred's argument because he is just angry about the fact that defendant once cheated him out of $100.
• "I think there is great merit in making the requirements stricter for the graduate students. I recommend that you support it, too. After all, we are in a budget crisis and we do not want our salaries affected."