(September 26, 2012 at 2:37 pm)Mister Agenda Wrote:(September 25, 2012 at 9:36 pm)Blackrook Wrote: Yes, it would seem that every atheist has that arrow in his quiver: that every argument from authority is a logical fallacy.
Not every argument from authority is a logical fallacy. If the authority is an authority in the specific field for which it is being appealed to, the appeal can be sound. For instance: Einstein on relativity, sound. Einstein on religion, fallacy.
The argument from authority is only a fallacy when it's used in place of an argument. Quoting Einstein to back up an argument may be valid, if the quote is accurately represented, but using Einstein as the entire argument is fallacious.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
