Question

...
Bo Bennett, PhD

What kind of fallacy is it when someone states that because person A has not done everything in his or her power for social cause X, then social cause X is not a worthy cause?

###posting as anonymous###
asked on Monday, May 01, 2017 04:11:47 PM by Bo Bennett, PhD

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."

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

Answers

...
Bo Bennett, PhD
0
The main error here is the ad hominem tu quoque . The behavior of the person supporting the social cause is not an determinate of the cause's social worth. If a person was protesting a meat factory, and they were NOT a vegetarian, then they might be a hypocrite, but that does not mean that reducing animal slaughter is not a worthwhile cause.

In this example, an analogy might be the best way to demonstrate the error in the reasoning:

So if we don't sell all of possessions and give the money to the starving children, does that mean that helping starving children is not a worthy cause?



If we change the issue, it might be more clear to the arguer since they most likely are emotionally invested in the issue about which they made the fallacy.

answered on Monday, May 01, 2017 04:11:47 PM by Bo Bennett, PhD

Comments