Guys like you
Historical archive only. New interaction is disabled.
Original Question
There are two elements I conceive within the sort of argument of the Title and both have fallacies behind them imo.
1. There are guys like me, and the assertion is accurate, but the implication is that what's wrong with my argument is based on some other value than the logic of the argument itself.
2. There are no guys like me (but for me), but is having an argument no one else has evidence of error.
It would seem a weak (counter) argument, overlain by ad hominem (who do I think I am?) or an inverse of argumentum ad populum (I'm just one of the 3%)
Assuming either 1 or 2 were accurate, is "guys like you" fallacious reasoning, and though correct, yet what ASTM calls "non-persuasive"?
Answers
2It think it would depend on the context. If it's "guys like you who have a tendency to avoid the subject/cherry pick the data/beat up people/etc" then it would be relevant. Informal fallacies are generally (always?) fallacies of irrelevance, so if the "like you" is irrelevant then it would be ad hominem at least.
Not sure how "guys like you" fits the second description. If it's just you wouldn't that statement be redundant?
Not sure what ASTM is, though for some reason I feel like I've asked before.
I think you're describing an association fallacy. By using relevant information about a person's social identification, one can make sweeping generalizations. It's similar to the ecological fallacy found in statistics.
Master Logical Fallacies Online
Take the Virversity course and sharpen your reasoning skills with structured lessons.
View Online Course