Argumentum ad populum.
This is the fallacy of appealing to the feelings, passions and prejudices of an audience rather than to their good sense and powers of reason. It is probably the most common of the group. To excite sympathy, the lawyer for the defense may speak feelingly of the suffering that an unfavorable verdict will bring to the wife and children of the accused.
Argumentum ad hominem.
Here the character of the opponent is defamed with a view of discrediting him with the court or audience. “Mud throwing” in times of political agitation is a good example of this fallacy.
Argumentum ad ignorantiam.
This fallacy comes from taking advantage of the ignorance of the opponent; the fallacy assumes that the original supposition has been proved if one is unable to prove the contradictory of the original. Illustration: Mars is inhabited because no one is able to prove that Mars is not inhabited.
Argumentum ad baculum.
In this all argumentation is made to give way to the forces of personal opposition and to the power of money. Illustration: A political committee seating those delegatesonly, who will vote their way; and, doing this, not from the merits of the case, but because said committee happen to have a sufficient number of votes to “put the thing through.”
Argumentum ad verecundiam.
This fallacy comes from supposing that the whole thing may be settled by citing some noted authority who apparently substantiates the argument advanced.