Proof Surrogate Vs Alleged Certainty
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Original Question
What is the difference between these two fallacies?
The proof surrogate fallacy seems to involve language that makes the claim seem certain, when it is not, with no premises provided nor evidence, like alleged certainty. Alleged certainty seems to use language, such as 'everbody knows' that could be seen as a surrogate for evidence, like proof surrogate.
I've also looked at references made in the Logically Fallacious book, and the author of Logical Reasoning writes the following:
'A proof surrogate is a less well-known rhetorical device, but we’ve all seen it. When a politician
says, “Everyone knows there should not be this kind of tax increase,” this remark is claiming
there’s a proof, but not giving the proof. That phrase, “Everyone knows” is a substitute for the
proof, a “surrogate” for it. When your neighbor says, “Studies show that two to three alien
spaceships land on Earth every year,” you spot the phrase “Studies show” as being a proof
surrogate and realize that you shouldn’t accept the claim about alien spaceship until you get the
proof itself.'
How do you distinguish between the two? It seems like any language that makes a claim seem certain is going to be a surrogate for evidence.
Answers
3I see the main fallacy as Appeal to Common Sense or Appeal to Common Belief
The second fallacy, using "studies show" is like one I have called out on several occasions, when the preamble is "scientists say", and both are Appeal to (False/Unknown) Authority or Appeal to Trust
As Dr Bennett said, it's to do with language.
Proof Surrogate asserts the truth of a statement (e.g. "The author is simply wrong"), using words - like "simply" - to surrogate as proof, when this should not be the case. It's a way to get people to accept non-proofs as evidence of an assessment.
Alleged Certainty is an argument from omniscience, where one claims universal knowledge, then demonstrates it (e.g. "Everyone knows feminism is outdated"). You could argue that it is a subset of Proof Surrogate, since the statement of certainty is acting as proof, or even a form of Begging the Question, where the conclusion is assumed in the premise.
They are similar, but I would say the difference is in the language used. We can even say that Alleged Certainty is a subset of Proof Surrogate . With Alleged Certainty , there is the added element of certainty (or extreme confidence), and that statement of certainty serves as the Proof Surrogate .
It's common knowledge that aliens anally probe humans all the time!
The phrase "it's common knowledge" alleges certainty as well as serves as surrogate for evidence of these rectal-probing visitors.
The earth is flat. Google it.
"Google it" is the surrogate for the proof, but is not alleging the same kind of certainty as the previous example.
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