(February 13, 2019 at 5:43 am)Der/die AtheistIn Wrote: It's the fallacy that something must be true, because an authority figure or expert sais so. I've been hearing this fallacy quite a lot and don't remember it being used to prove points which I personally believe to be true. Could it be, that the people trying to convince others of this point of view have a difficult time themselves believing their own claims?
There is a huge difference between the appeal to lawmakers, religious leaders, and independent scientific peer review that fosters consensus over time.
North Korea has laws, so in that context, yea appeal to their authority is bullshit.
The ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks also had religious leaders, and again, appeal to their authority would also be a fallacy.
But when it comes to facts like evolution and big bang, appealing to the long term observations that confirm those facts, that is not a fallacy.
