(August 27, 2019 at 8:30 am)Grandizer Wrote: Fallacy of Stolen Concept ... George H. Smith employed that phrase in his book on atheism as well, and it was the first time I stumbled upon the phrase. And as you know, he is a big fan of Ayn Rand.
Though I don't agree with the libertarian political way of thinking, and the ethics philosophy associated with Ayn Rand, I don't really disagree with the whole thing about God being an unreasonable concept. George H. Smith was pretty convincing in his book regarding that, and it seems like Ayn Rand (though I have not read any of her works) did a good job pioneering/popularizing the argument.
Hi Grandizer,
The fallacy of the stolen concept was first identified by Rand. It's an error in thinking that occurs when one uses a higher-level concept while ignoring or denying a concept which the higher-level concept depends on logically. It's a breach of logic. For instance, if you accepted calculus but denied the validity of basic arithmetic, you would be guilty of concept stealing. Using logic to try to prove the existence of a god is a pretty textbook and blatant example. It renders any argument for a god instantly invalid and self-refuting. It's sometimes much harder to detect though and that's why it's so prevalent. I think it's just about the most common fallacy out there. I think it's one of Rands greatest contributions to philosophy.
"The “stolen concept” fallacy, first identified by Ayn Rand, is the fallacy of using a concept while denying the validity of its genetic roots, i.e., of an earlier concept(s) on which it logically depends." Ayn Rand, Philosophical Detection, Philosophy: Who Needs It, 22.
