Question

...
David Blomstrom

Corporate Philanthropy

Lots of powerful and corrupt individuals whitewash their image by professing to do good works. Even some of the most sensational criminals call themselves "philanthropists" (e.g. Michael "Junk Bond King" Milken.) Wikipedia describes former Seattle Mayor Paul Schell, a notoriously corrupt real estate developer, as a "citizen activist."

So what's the term for the fallacy where a bad person is described as a saint?
asked on Friday, Aug 18, 2017 08:47:09 PM by David Blomstrom

Top Categories Suggested by Community

Comments

Want to get notified of all questions as they are asked? Update your mail preferences and turn on "Instant Notification."

Eat Meat... Or Don't.

Roughly 95% of Americans don’t appear to have an ethical problem with animals being killed for food, yet all of us would have a serious problem with humans being killed for food. What does an animal lack that a human has that justifies killing the animal for food but not the human?

As you start to list properties that the animal lacks to justify eating them, you begin to realize that some humans also lack those properties, yet we don’t eat those humans. Is this logical proof that killing and eating animals for food is immoral? Don’t put away your steak knife just yet.

In Eat Meat… Or Don’t, we examine the moral arguments for and against eating meat with both philosophical and scientific rigor. This book is not about pushing some ideological agenda; it’s ultimately a book about critical thinking.

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

Answers

...
mike
0
I don't think its a fallacy if the claims are true, Michael Milken was both a criminal and a philanthropist, they are not mutually exclusive.

If he's calling himself a philanthropist to advance an argument for him being a good person, you could challenge the argument, charge cherry picking maybe.

answered on Friday, Aug 18, 2017 10:50:20 PM by mike

Comments
...
Bo Bennett, PhD
0
It's not a fallacy, but perhaps motivated by a cognitive bias known as the halo effect . If a person does something good that really stands out, bad acts are shadowed by the good. Good critical thinking requires looking at all the facts and evaluating them fairly. As Mike points out, one can be a criminal and a philanthropist, they are not mutually exclusive.
answered on Saturday, Aug 19, 2017 06:42:44 AM by Bo Bennett, PhD

Comments