Logical Errors

Logical Fallacies

Faulty Premises

Factual Errors

Suggestion

The fallacy of suggestion operates by hinting that something is or is not so and then letting other people jump to conclusions from there. A newspaper account might say, "Senator A made no mention of whether he had accepted bribes or campaign contributions in the XYZ affair." This innuendo might be entirely the creation of the writer, yet taking it on face value, the reader may conclude that the writer had some facts or possible facts that made the statement relevant. Marc Antony's technique of suggestion, coupled with repetition in his famous "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" speech, accomplished the same thing. After he had repeated the statement ". . . and Brutus is an honorable man" for about the fifth time, the crowd began to doubt the honorable intentions of Brutus in killing Caesar. Antony never said that Brutus was dishonorable; in fact, he said just the opposite. But his skillful use of suggestion got the real message across.

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Map of Logical Errors