Common Logical Fallacies Explained in Latin

When we talk about bad arguments, manipulation, or faulty reasoning, Latin appears just as often—though usually in a more confrontational way.

Terms like ad hominem, post hoc, or non sequitur are still used to name the most common errors in reasoning: attacks on the person instead of the claim, false causation, conclusions that simply do not follow. These expressions survive because they remain useful. Yet they are often repeated mechanically, invoked as slogans rather than understood as precise diagnoses of how an argument has gone wrong.

This poster gathers a small set of Latin phrases that name recurring logical fallacies and rhetorical distortions. Each term is paired with a clear English explanation, not to encourage jargon, but to sharpen recognition. The goal is to help readers spot these patterns when they appear—in debate, media, or everyday conversation—and to distinguish persuasion from reasoning.

Seen alongside the Logic & Argumentation poster, this one completes the picture: how arguments should be built, and how they often fail.

For those drawn to this kind of clarity, learning Latin itself is a natural next step. My online course Latin I: First Steps begins from the foundations and uses Familia Romana by Ørberg with the direct method, emphasizing understanding through context and reading rather than constant translation.

Latin does more than preserve old words. It gives names to the ways we think—and to the ways thinking goes wrong.