|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Forms
The first form of the appeal to authority is when a person presenting a position on a subject mentions some authority who also holds that position, but who is not actually an authority in that area. For instance, the statement "Arthur C. Clarke recently released a report showing it is necessary to floss three times daily" should not convince many people of anything about flossing, as Arthur C. Clarke is not a known expert on dental hygiene. Much advertising relies on this logical fallacy in the form of endorsements and sponsorships. The second form, citing a person who actually is an authority in the relevant field, carries more weight in that the authority is more likely to be correct. However, the possibility of a mistake may remain, but only if that authority happens to be a relative authority, and not an absolute one. In cases where the authority cited is absolute, the credibility of that authority is also absolute, and therefore the claim must be accepted as factual. Any authority who makes the claim that no authority is definitely correct must concede that he himself may also be incorrect. Therefore, the claim that, "absolute authority does not exist" is, in itself, a logical fallacy. Appeal to authority as logical fallacyA (fallacious) appeal to authority argument has the basic form:
Appeal to authority as sound logical conclusion
An appeal to authority may or may not be a logical fallacy, depending on the authority cited: some authorities can be wrong, both in their own field and in other fields, while others can not; therefore referencing authority may or may not automatically imply truth. Some authorities are absolute, and therefore are exceptions to the (fallacious) claim that all appeals to authority are fallacious. After all, the very claim that "all appeals to authority are fallacious" is, in and of itself, an appeal to authority. The authority may be honestly cited, or the authority may be dishonestly hidden from the argument, but an authority must be there. If the person making the statement does not cite someone else, then the implied "authority" must necessarily be the very person making the claim. Examples of appeals to authority
DiscussionAmong the most respected of ancient Greek philosophers was Pythagoras, whose disciples were known for their custom of justifying their assertions by reference to the bald assertions of their master: αὐτὸς έφη (autos ephe), or "he himself hath said it." This well-known practice was carried on by later philosophers and ecclesiastics. Because of the influence of scholasticism, the expression is commonly known in its Latin translation, ipse dixit. In the Middle Ages, roughly from the 12th century to the 15th century, the philosophy of Aristotle became firmly established dogma, and using the beliefs of Aristotle was an important part of many debates. Aristotle's thought became so central to the philosophy of the late Middle Ages that he became known in Latin as Ille Philosophus, "the philosopher," and quotations from Aristotle became known as ipse dixits ("He, himself, has spoken."). In this case, Aristotle is an example of someone who is an authority in philosophy, but philosophy is an area where direct evidence is less readily available, and therefore, Aristotle's ideas carry weight, but are not the final word. On the other hand, arguing that all astronomers believe that the planet Neptune exists - and therefore, that serves as evidence of the planet's existence - is a more compelling argument because astronomers are knowledgeable in the relevant field and are in a position to readily prove or disprove the existence of the planet (direct experience). However, it is still better to argue from evidence than from what astronomers believe. Authoritarian ethics is the meta-ethical theory by which one attains ethical knowledge from an authority, for example from a God or from the law (see Divine command theory). The bandwagon fallacy can be viewed as a special case of an appeal to authority, where the authority is public opinion. The infamous 'Because I said so' argument much stated by parents and loathed by children is not, strictly speaking, a logical fallacy of this type, though it is an invocation of authority. It depends upon the theory of child as a insufficiently competent judge of actions, and it invokes the moral theory that the child owes obedience to its parents (and by extension, those acting as their agents-- see in loco parentis). The child in turn is implying (by questioning) an obligation on the part of the parents to justify their decisions. Within this framework, the child's assumption of authority to call into question parental decisions cannot be justified. The framework is imperfect, as children are not utterly incompetent in reality, and parental decisions are sometimes malign; nonetheless, the issue is over obedience, not validity of moral reasoning.
See alsoel:Προσφυγή στην αυθεντίαes:Argumentum ad verecundiam fr:Argument d'autorité he:אד ורקונדיאם lt:Apeliavimas į autoritetą hu:Argumentum ad verecundiam nl:Beroep op autoriteit pt:Argumentum ad Verecundiam sv:Auktoritetsargument uk:Argumentum ad Verecundiam
|
Sites |
Searched sites for "Appeal to authority" |
|
No sites found. |
Sorry, no matching site records were found. |
Want your site listed here?
|
||||||||||||||
|
Submit
your site |
|
Relevant quality search results and fast easy navigation throughout the
different sections of the site, make Americola.com |