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Part one is about how science works even when the public thinks it doesn't. Part two will certainly ruffle some feathers by offering a reason- and science-based perspective on issues where political correctness has gone awry. Part three provides some data-driven advice for your health and well-being. Part four looks at human behavior and how we can better navigate our social worlds. In part five we put on our skeptical goggles and critically examine a few commonly-held beliefs. In the final section, we look at a few ways how we all can make the world a better place.
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They are similar, but I would say the difference is in the language used. We can even say that Alleged Certainty is a subset of Proof Surrogate . With Alleged Certainty , there is the added element of certainty (or extreme confidence), and that statement of certainty serves as the Proof Surrogate . It's common knowledge that aliens anally probe humans all the time! The phrase "it's common knowledge" alleges certainty as well as serves as surrogate for evidence of these rectal-probing visitors. The earth is flat. Google it. "Google it" is the surrogate for the proof, but is not alleging the same kind of certainty as the previous example. |
answered on Thursday, Apr 30, 2020 05:39:59 PM by Bo Bennett, PhD | |
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As Dr Bennett said, it's to do with language. Proof Surrogate asserts the truth of a statement (e.g. "The author is simply wrong"), using words - like "simply" - to surrogate as proof, when this should not be the case. It's a way to get people to accept non-proofs as evidence of an assessment. Alleged Certainty is an argument from omniscience, where one claims universal knowledge, then demonstrates it (e.g. "Everyone knows feminism is outdated"). You could argue that it is a subset of Proof Surrogate, since the statement of certainty is acting as proof, or even a form of Begging the Question, where the conclusion is assumed in the premise. |
answered on Thursday, Apr 30, 2020 07:44:05 PM by TrappedPrior (RotE) | |
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I see the main fallacy as Appeal to Common Sense or Appeal to Common Belief The second fallacy, using "studies show" is like one I have called out on several occasions, when the preamble is "scientists say", and both are Appeal to (False/Unknown) Authority or Appeal to Trust |
answered on Friday, May 01, 2020 12:06:42 PM by DrBill | |
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