What is the Fallacy?
Historical archive only. New interaction is disabled.
Original Question
We are enrolling our child at a liberal arts classical high-school and a neighboring high-school principal said we just want to drink our chardonnay on the playground. Since I attended the neighboring high-school, I did not learn about logical fallacies and was caught without a response (other than being grateful that my son will be taking 4 years of philosophy outside of this principal's reach). What fallacy does this best fall under? Ad Hominem, Red Herring, or other.....?
Thank you!
Thank you!
Answers
1It's more of sarcastic quip than a logical fallacy, as there is no error in reasoning. Whether attending a Lacrosse game or even watching an outdoor Shakespeare play imbibing Chardonnay on the playground sounds like a fine way to spend an afternoon or evening.
From the wise-cracking principal it may have a smidgeon of Ad hominem Guilt by Association, as Dr. Bo explains:
Ad Hominem (Guilt by Association)
argumentum ad hominem
(also known as: association fallacy, bad company fallacy, company that you keep fallacy, they’re not like us fallacy, transfer fallacy)
Description: When the source is viewed negatively because of its association with another person or group who is already viewed negatively.
Logical Form:
Person 1 states that Y is true.
Person 2 also states that Y is true, and person 2 is a moron.
Therefore, person 1 must be a moron too.
Example #1:
Delores is a big supporter for equal pay for equal work. This is the same policy that all those extreme feminist groups support. Extremists like Delores should not be taken seriously -- at least politically.
Explanation: Making the assumption that Delores is an extreme feminist simply because she supports a policy that virtually every man and woman also support, is fallacious.
From the wise-cracking principal it may have a smidgeon of Ad hominem Guilt by Association, as Dr. Bo explains:
Ad Hominem (Guilt by Association)
argumentum ad hominem
(also known as: association fallacy, bad company fallacy, company that you keep fallacy, they’re not like us fallacy, transfer fallacy)
Description: When the source is viewed negatively because of its association with another person or group who is already viewed negatively.
Logical Form:
Person 1 states that Y is true.
Person 2 also states that Y is true, and person 2 is a moron.
Therefore, person 1 must be a moron too.
Example #1:
Delores is a big supporter for equal pay for equal work. This is the same policy that all those extreme feminist groups support. Extremists like Delores should not be taken seriously -- at least politically.
Explanation: Making the assumption that Delores is an extreme feminist simply because she supports a policy that virtually every man and woman also support, is fallacious.
Master Logical Fallacies Online
Take the Virversity course and sharpen your reasoning skills with structured lessons.
View Online Course