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I think it's a bit hard to pin a logical fallacy on this one, as the two people are debating their opinions on what the Gulf of Mexico should be called, rather than any sort of logical truth. However, I do see a possible red herring as the second person basically ignores the point about the historical context of the name, and gives a totally unrelated justification for why it should be called Gulf of America. That said, the justification isn't that good. The Gulf of Mexico only touches the shoreline of the US, Mexico, and Cuba, which are all part of North America, and the part that Trump renamed to Gulf of America is only the section that's along the shore of the United States of America, so the idea that it represents those other regions makes no sense. In fact, the justification that Trump gave for doing it was all about the United States. The idea that geographic features should be renamed to represent wider areas is not one I can recall ever having seen applied before. The fact that this justification is seemingly pulled out of nowhere might make it an ad hoc rescue . |
answered on Friday, May 09, 2025 01:02:29 AM by Mr. Wednesday | |
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If the renaming was motivated solely by political reasons, to relate a region with US rather than Mexico, then the reason given about representing South, Central and North America is inauthentic. In this case, it's rationalization . |
answered on Friday, May 09, 2025 05:28:57 AM by Kostas Oikonomou | |
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No fallacy. And it makes a valid argument. |
answered on Friday, May 09, 2025 11:31:49 AM by Mchasewalker | |
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