Ignoratio Elenchi Fallacy Examples in Media, Real Life, Politics, News & Ads

Ignoratio Elenchi Fallacy

What Is Ignoratio Elenchi Fallacy?

Ignoratio Elenchi is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone tries to refute an argument by disproving a point that was not made in the first place. It occurs when someone attempts to refute an argument by disproving the evidence for it but not addressing the actual issue.

An example of this fallacy would be if I were to say, “I can’t believe you think it’s okay for people to cheat on their spouses,” and my opponent responded with, “No one said anything about cheating.”

Ignoratio Elenchi Examples

Ignoratio Elenchi Examples in Commercial

Examples of Ignoratio Elenchi in Commercial:

The commercial features a woman wearing an expensive dress and drinking from a champagne flute. She is sitting on the floor in front of her fireplace, which has been decorated with Christmas lights.

The commercial ends with the words “I’m not broke” appearing on the screen.

Ignoratio Elenchi Real Life Examples

Examples of Ignoratio Elenchi in Real Life:

One example of this would be if you were trying to convince someone that they should get a flu shot, and you showed them statistics about how many people die from the flu every year but didn’t mention anything about getting vaccinated.

This type of reasoning can also be seen in arguments where one side says, “I’m right because I have more evidence than you.”

Ignoratio Elenchi Examples in Media

Examples of Ignoratio Elenchi in Media: 

Ignoratio Elenchi is the logical fallacy of presenting an argument that disproves or refutes another argument but does not address the original point.

For example, if a person were to say, “I know you are lying because your lips are moving.”

This would be considered ignoratio elenchi as it does not address whether or not they are lying.

Ignoratio Elenchi Examples in Advertising

Ignoratio Elenchi in Advertising: 

Ignoratio Elenchi is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone tries to disprove or refute an opponent’s argument by making an irrelevant point.

In this example, the commercial for “Crazy Cat Lady” perfume uses Ignoratio Elenchi in their advertisement.

The ad shows a woman with many cats and implies that she smells like cat urine because of her love of felines.

This is not relevant to the product being advertised (perfume), so it commits Ignoratio Elenchi.

Ignoratio Elenchi Examples in Politics

Examples of Ignoratio Elenchi in Politics:

Ignoratio elenchi is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone attempts to disprove or discredit an opponent’s argument by using irrelevant evidence.

This type of fallacy can be seen in the following example:

“The president should not have been impeached because he was elected.”

Here, the person is trying to prove that the president should not have been impeached by pointing out that he was elected and thus has public support for his position.

Ignoratio Elenchi in Movies

Examples of Ignoratio Elenchi in Movies:

The movie “The Shawshank Redemption” is an example of Ignoratio Elenchi because it does not refute the claim that Andy Dufresne was innocent but instead argues that he should be free regardless of his guilt or innocence.

In the movie “The Sixth Sense,” Dr. Malcolm Crowe’s argument with Cole Sear is an example of Ignoratio Elenchi because Dr. Crowe never refutes Cole’s belief in ghosts and instead focuses on how to help him cope with his condition through therapy and medication.

Ignoratio Elenchi Examples in Literature

Examples of Ignoratio Elenchi in Literature:

Ignoratio Elenchi is a logical fallacy that occurs when an argument attempts to disprove or discredit another person’s argument by proving something unrelated to the original point.

One example of this in literature is when Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice tries to convince Mr. Bennet not to marry Elizabeth because she has no money and connections. Still, he does not care about her fortune as much as her personality: “He was so blinded,” says Mrs. Bennet, “by his ridiculous ambition.”

Another example would be when Lady Catherine de Bourgh  in Pride and Prejudice  tells Lizzy that if she does not marry Darcy, then she will never have any other chance at marrying well again: “But let me tell you what I do know–you are throwing away your future with Mr. Darcy.”

Ignoratio Elenchi Examples in News

Examples of Ignoratio Elenchi in News:

For example, in the news, if someone were to say that “the world will end because there are too many people on Earth,” this would be an example of Ignoratio Elenchi because it’s not necessarily true that more people means the world will end.

This is also known as missing the point or irrelevant conclusion.

Related: Reductio Ad Absurdum Examples