That’s right folks we’re back at it again with another ‘That’s What You Get!’ Wednesday edition here on Burn Your Boats. This week I am breaking down, in layman’s terms, another logical fallacy that has been catching people up since people have been people…so for the entire existence of mankind! These are the logical fallacies “Appeal to Authority” and “Argument from Authority”. There are some good reasons for the enduring nature. Putting trust in brave, successful and..well…people that were still alive was the best way to survive for a very long period of the human experience.
Think about back when we were hunting and gathering. The top male who consistently brought food back for the tribe. The one who led the younger more inexperienced males. The one who survived bouts in the wild and skirmishes against large and dangerous prey. This individual would likely have been trusted with a plethora, if not the totality of decisions being made that directly impacted the survival of that tribe. This would make sense if he were describing the best way to stalk an animal, to take it down quickly, and to strip it down in a way that provided food to the tribe. Would it make sense if he were the one selecting the cave to sleep in or the best plants to forage from?
Not likely!
Because while he is the authority in some aspects of life, this does not make him the ultimate authority on all things. So if other tribes people tried to invoke his name in order to justify a decision (appeal to authority) or if he used his position of hunting authority to justify an argument he was making to his people (argument from authority) it would behoove the tribe members to take a moment and analyze a little bit more, to ask some more questions, and to find more information before making a decision versus just relying on the top guy because he is the top guy.
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