Fallacies
In every discipline that values truth—whether philosophy, theology, science, or public discourse—sound reasoning is indispensable. Fallacies are errors in reasoning that may appear persuasive but fail under logical scrutiny. This companion to the Dictionary provides brief, academically grounded explanations of both formal and informal fallacies, including exegetical fallacies found in biblical interpretation. Each entry identifies the structure of the error, explains why it is invalid, and offers examples to aid discernment in argumentation and analysis.
Important: Fallacies demonstrate that an argument is logically weak or unsound, but they do not necessarily prove its conclusion false.
Formal fallacies are errors in the logical structure of an argument, where the conclusion does not follow from the premises due to invalid form, regardless of content.
Informal fallacies are errors in reasoning that arise from the content (or information) of the premises. These depend on linguistic tricks, psychological ploys, or irrelevant appeals, making arguments misleading despite valid structure.
Informal fallacies in biblical exegesis, termed “exegetical fallacies,” distort scriptural interpretation through flawed lexical, grammatical, logical, or presuppositional methods.
