search

Become an active member of our fallacy-discussing community (or just become a lurker!)

Relative Privation

(also known as: it could be worse, it could be better)

Description: Trying to make a scenario appear better or worse by comparing it to the best or worst case scenario.

Logical Forms:

Scenario S is presented.

Scenario B is presented as a best-case.

Therefore, Scenario S is not that good.

 

Scenario S is presented.

Scenario B is presented as a worst-case.

Therefore, Scenario S is very good.

Example #1:

Be happy with the 1972 Chevy Nova you drive.  There are many people in this country who don’t even have a car.

Explanation: This person does have a very crappy car by any reasonable standard.  Only comparing his situation with people who have no cars, does his Chevy Nova look like a Rolls Royce.  It is fallacious to make a reasonable judgment based on these extreme cases.

Example #2:

Son: I am so excited!  I got an “A” on my physics exam!

Dad:  Why not an “A+”?  This means that you answered something incorrectly.  That is not acceptable!

Explanation: The poor kid is viewing his success from a very reasonable perspective based on norms.  However, the father is using a best case scenario as a comparison, or a very unreasonable perspective.  The conclusion “it is not acceptable,” is unreasonable and, therefore, fallacious.

Exception: When used intentionally to manipulate emotions (especially with good intentions), not to make an argument on reason, then this might be acceptable.

I know that you just lost your job, but at least you still have a great education and plenty of experience, which will help you get another job.

Fun Fact: My first car was a crappy, 1972 Chevy Nova that I bought for $50 in my sophomore year in high school. This was when I first learned about correlation. Me driving that car was strongly correlated with my lack of female companions.

References:

This a logical fallacy frequently used on the Internet. No academic sources could be found.

Questions about this fallacy? Ask our community!

Uncomfortable Ideas: Facts don't care about feelings. Science isn't concerned about sensibilities. And reality couldn't care less about rage.

This is a book about uncomfortable ideas—the reasons we avoid them, the reasons we shouldn’t, and discussion of dozens of examples that might infuriate you, offend you, or at least make you uncomfortable.

Many of our ideas about the world are based more on feelings than facts, sensibilities than science, and rage than reality. We gravitate toward ideas that make us feel comfortable in areas such as religion, politics, philosophy, social justice, love and sex, humanity, and morality. We avoid ideas that make us feel uncomfortable. This avoidance is a largely unconscious process that affects our judgment and gets in the way of our ability to reach rational and reasonable conclusions. By understanding how our mind works in this area, we can start embracing uncomfortable ideas and be better informed, be more understanding of others, and make better decisions in all areas of life.

Get 20% off this book and all Bo's books*. Use the promotion code: websiteusers

* This is for the author's bookstore only. Applies to autographed hardcover, audiobook, and ebook.

Get the Book