RE: [split] Critical Thinking Skills
March 28, 2013 at 9:06 pm
(This post was last modified: March 28, 2013 at 9:08 pm by jstrodel.)
The statement "It is not fallacious to appeal to authority, people do it all the time" was not intended to be a formal argument for the veracity of the argument from authority, just a common sense assessment of the fact that the argument from authority is probably the most widely used and most reliable argument. It is true that it is not as rigorous as a careful, extended study of a particular issue, but most people do not actually do that.
"It is not fallacious to affirm the consequent, people do it all the time"
No that is different because the argument from authority is a legitimate authority that confers a weight of epistemic value on the statement if it is correctly used, as it commonly is. For instance, what 99% of doctors believe is very significant. Affirming the consequent is a common mistake, not a common argument.
The argument from authority is only fallacious when it is used fallaciously.
Why can't you just accept that you are wrong? It is not fallacious to say "My doctor told me I should get exercise to avoid heart disease". What prevents you from realizing that you are wrong? Some things are complicated, this isn't. Why can't you just admit you are wrong. The fact that you tried to compare an error to a legitimate argument shows that you are not even trying to understand the issue. Why can't you just forget about whatever you want to prove and just admit you are wrong?
"It is not fallacious to affirm the consequent, people do it all the time"
No that is different because the argument from authority is a legitimate authority that confers a weight of epistemic value on the statement if it is correctly used, as it commonly is. For instance, what 99% of doctors believe is very significant. Affirming the consequent is a common mistake, not a common argument.
The argument from authority is only fallacious when it is used fallaciously.
Why can't you just accept that you are wrong? It is not fallacious to say "My doctor told me I should get exercise to avoid heart disease". What prevents you from realizing that you are wrong? Some things are complicated, this isn't. Why can't you just admit you are wrong. The fact that you tried to compare an error to a legitimate argument shows that you are not even trying to understand the issue. Why can't you just forget about whatever you want to prove and just admit you are wrong?
