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Famous physicist fallacy?Person A asserts something as true because a famous physicist said it.
Arguendo, whether or not it is true, the assertion is about the famous physicist's saying it. Person B, who disagrees with A, says: 1. the famous physicist is a known troll, so what he says is just nonsense 2. the famous physicist is paid by x to say these things, so.... 3. the famous physicist is not known for [subset of physics], but [other subset of physics], so..... 4. the famous physicist is known for physics, but the issue is another named science, so.... 5. the famous physicist is known for physics, but the issue is another named topic, so.... 6. the famous physicist is retired, so.... Both Person A and Person B are using fallacious reasoning, imo, but in rhetoric, what choice is there? ====================================== [edit] Person B only stopped b/c his keyboard broke...;) [edit 2] an answer uses several versions... www.quora.com/Why-do-famo. . . |
| asked on Thursday, Jun 27, 2019 03:28:52 PM by DrBill | |
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Claims are constantly being made, many of which are confusing, ambiguous, too general to be of value, exaggerated, unfalsifiable, and suggest a dichotomy when no such dichotomy exists. Good critical thinking requires a thorough understanding of the claim before attempting to determine its veracity. Good communication requires the ability to make clear, precise, explicit claims, or “strong” claims. The rules of reason in this book provide the framework for obtaining this understanding and ability.
This book / online course is about the the eleven rules of reason for making and evaluating claims. Each covered in detail in the book.
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Ultimately, it's a false choice because it's not about the famous physicist (Transfer Fallacy) or his or her shortcomings (ad hominem credibility). It's about the veracity of the claim.
For instance: Referring to his own theory of a Cosmological Constant, Einstein was swayed by evidence and changed his mind - calling it, 'My biggest blunder'. A famous physicist said it so it must be true: the theory of a Cosmological Constant was a colossal blunder. No, in fact, it wasn't a blunder at all but largely correct. It's just not caused by anti-gravity within the universe, but by the gravitational forces of matter outside our finite spherical universe within an infinite space. |
| answered on Thursday, Jun 27, 2019 03:55:17 PM by mchasewalker |
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