Question

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alex

Does invoking sophism in an argument be considered a logic fallacy ?

Can’t tell you how many arguments I’ve had that is over something objective. Does this medication work? Is god real? Any new age claim or paranormal claim. Once I back someone into a corner I get told the legendary “Everything is subjective”. Or the old Nietzsche quote of “Their are no facts”. I just replay with can you prove that?  What’s even the point of having a disagreement with someone if whenever you been pushed into a corner you just say in some sense that only you know your mind is sure to exist???? 

asked on Wednesday, May 04, 2022 12:27:23 PM by alex

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Answers

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Bo Bennett, PhD
3

Most of the time, this is a failure to be an honest interlocutor. It is basically refusing to have a reasonable discussion. Other times, it is a person's cognitive dissonance kicking in, which is often a good thing. You may not think you are getting anywhere, but at some level, progress is being made. The key is to catch the person on special pleading . For example,

Person 1: Does medication X work? The vast majority of reputable studies seem to claim it does.

Person 2: No, it is a sham by the medical community.

Person 1: Where is the evidence for that?

Person 2: The evidence is being suppressed by Big Pharma and the Deep State. That's why there is none.

Person 1: How come they aren't suppressing the thousands of other non-pharmaceutical treatments studies in scientific journals?

Person 2: Because... Illuminati... Obama... (frustration)

People are stubborn, but for many, reason ultimately prevails. Don't give up.

 

answered on Wednesday, May 04, 2022 12:45:02 PM by Bo Bennett, PhD

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Mchasewalker writes:

The examples do scream of Thought-terminating Cliché or with a stretch to appeal to possibility. I'm wondering with today's endless farrago of fallacies if there is An Appeal to Conspiracy Theory category?. or would that too be a special pleading?

We still don't know if  Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin.

9 11 was a false flag operation of the Bush Administration.

We know that certain movie stars and Democrats are running pedopile rings out of pizza delivery shops. :)

posted on Wednesday, May 04, 2022 02:57:46 PM
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Bo Bennett, PhD writes:
[To Mchasewalker]

There is the conspiracy theory that is a fallacy in this context.

 

[ login to reply ] posted on Thursday, May 05, 2022 07:36:11 AM
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Ed F
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This seems to be a Thought Terminating Cliche; an attempt to divert.

answered on Wednesday, May 04, 2022 12:42:17 PM by Ed F

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TrappedPrior (RotE)
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Subjectivist fallacy is another option, in addition to what Dr Bo already (accurately) said.

I like to call it "retreat into subjectivity" - a person is more than happy to argue a common reality up to a point, but past that point, they "retreat" by creating their own reality - a personal 'realm of truth' that's totally arbitrary, defined on their terms, and established such that they can never be wrong. They then assert a claim and deny all evidence to the contrary by constantly appealing to subjectivity, effectively substituting the common reality for their own.

It's akin to a chess player changing the rules because they are losing the game, and typically manifests when a person does not want to admit you have a point, or concede theirs (as Dr Bo put it, "failure to be an honest interlocutor").

 

answered on Wednesday, May 04, 2022 04:41:04 PM by TrappedPrior (RotE)

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Dr. Richard
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The quick answer is that if everything is subject, then is the statement "everything is subjective."  It is internally contradictory.  I could write a lot more on this subject, but I have to run at the moment.

answered on Thursday, May 05, 2022 04:08:01 PM by Dr. Richard

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