search

Gadarene Swine Fallacy

Description: The assumption that because an individual is not in formation with the group, that the individual must be the one off course. It is possible that the one who appears off course is the only one on the right course.

Logical Form:

Person X stands out from the group.

Therefore, person X is wrong.

Example #1:

Why can't your daughter fall in line like the other girls?

Explanation: The assumption here is that the "other girls" are doing the right thing. This needs to be established or demonstrated through reason and evidence.

Example #2:

Many people throughout history started revolutions by taking the morally right action when it was considered morally wrong or even illegal at the time. Consider Rosa Parks.

Exception: It is just as wrong to assume that the one is "out of formation" as it is to assume that all the rest must be "out of formation." While it might be statistically more probable that the one is out of formation, evidence should be sought before making any definitive claim.

Tip: Compare this to the Galileo fallacy . You will see that being the oddball neither makes you right nor wrong.

References:

Laing, R. D. (1990). The Politics of Experience and The Bird of Paradise. Penguin Books Limited.

Questions about this fallacy? Ask our community!

Eat Meat... Or Don't.

Roughly 95% of Americans don’t appear to have an ethical problem with animals being killed for food, yet all of us would have a serious problem with humans being killed for food. What does an animal lack that a human has that justifies killing the animal for food but not the human?

As you start to list properties that the animal lacks to justify eating them, you begin to realize that some humans also lack those properties, yet we don’t eat those humans. Is this logical proof that killing and eating animals for food is immoral? Don’t put away your steak knife just yet.

In Eat Meat… Or Don’t, we examine the moral arguments for and against eating meat with both philosophical and scientific rigor. This book is not about pushing some ideological agenda; it’s ultimately a book about critical thinking.

Get 20% off this book and all Bo's books*. Use the promotion code: websiteusers

* This is for the author's bookstore only. Applies to autographed hardcover, audiobook, and ebook.

Get the Book