Shifting the Burden of Proof

The burden of proof is always on the person asserting something. Shifting the burden of proof, a special case of Argumentum ad Ignorantiam, is the fallacy of putting the burden of proof on the person who denies or questions the assertion. The source of the fallacy is the assumption that something is true unless proven otherwise.

"OK, so if you do not think Ki is an energy that actually flows through the body, can you prove it?"

Slippery Slope Argument

This argument states that should one event occur, so will other harmful events, even though here is no proof made that the harmful events are caused by the first event. For example:

"If we legalize marijuana, then more people would start to use crack and heroin, and we would have to legalize those too. Before long we would have a nation full of drug-addicts on welfare. Therefore, we cannot legalize marijuana."

Straw Man Fallacy

The straw man fallacy is when you misrepresent someone else's position so that it can be attacked more easily. Then you knock down that misrepresented position and conclude that the original position has been demolished. It is a fallacy because it fails to deal with the actual arguments that have been made.

"To believe that your martial art is the best, you must examine all the martial art styles in the world. Since you obviously have not done this, your position is indefensible."

Shifting the Burden of Proof

"OK, so if you do not think Ki is an energy that actually flows through the body, can you prove it?"

Tu Quoque

This is the famous "you too" fallacy. It occurs if you argue that an action is acceptable because your opponent has performed it. For example:

"You are hitting too hard."

"So what? You have also been hitting too hard."

This is a personal attack, and is therefore a special case of Argumentum ad Hominem.

Fallacy of the Undistributed Middle ("A is based on B" Fallacies or "...is a type of..." Fallacies)

These fallacies occur if you attempt to argue that things are in some way similar, but you do not actually specify in what way they are similar. For example:

"Taekwondo throws are based on Judo throws? Therefore, is not Taekwondo just a form of Judo?"

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