Question

...
David Blomstrom

"This is our flag."

In terms of design (and sometimes symbolism), most U.S. state flags stink. People have been trying to have their respective state flags improved or replaced for decades, but they are almost always shot down.

One argument legislators sometimes use is this:

"THIS is OUR flag!"

In other words, whatever design is currently official - even if it is a state's fifth flag - is "our" flag, even though citizens weren't allowed to vote for it.

It seems to brief to qualify as an argument, but is there an implied fallacy in  there? ( This is our flag, therefore we should not change it. )

One  possibility is equivocation (I think that's the term), with "our" meaning different things to different people. Another possibility is the suggestion that flags can't or shouldn't be changed, even though they have been changed many times over the years. What fallacy would that be?

asked on Saturday, Aug 13, 2022 08:15:21 AM by David Blomstrom

Top Categories Suggested by Community

Comments

Want to get notified of all questions as they are asked? Update your mail preferences and turn on "Instant Notification."

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

Answers

...
Bo Bennett, PhD
3

Right away I am thinking of appeal to tradition . The implied argument is that this is how it has always been therefore this is how it should always be.
answered on Saturday, Aug 13, 2022 08:18:47 AM by Bo Bennett, PhD

Bo Bennett, PhD Suggested These Categories

Comments
...
1
David Blomstrom writes:

Ah, I never thought about that. It's ironic, because I'm a big fan of tradition, but some traditions aren't so cool. The other irony is Maine, where some people want to readopt their original state flag - which is more traditional than the current flag. ;)

posted on Saturday, Aug 13, 2022 08:21:18 AM
...
3
Bo Bennett, PhD writes:

[To David Blomstrom]

Traditions are fine, and people can choose to honor them or not. A common problem with traditions is the piece of history one chooses to use as "traditional." A good example of this is marriage. At one point in U.S. history, interracial couple not being allowed to marry was "traditional". In Biblical times, a rapist was required to marry his victim (meaning the victim was required to marry her rapist) [Deuteronomy 22:28-29]. This was "traditional." People use "tradition" as a way to avoid rational debate, and simply accepting the tradition they prefer.

[ login to reply ] posted on Saturday, Aug 13, 2022 08:32:32 AM