Being able to distinguish facts from opinions, or the capacity to think critically, should be an important outcome of education. People are entitled to their own opinions, but shouldn't one be able to justify how they arrived at their opinion? Shouldn't a valid opinion be based on facts, information or evidence and not just on beliefs?
Most people believe homosexuality is not "normal". That may or may not be true. But it is a logical fallacy (appeal to belief) to use that argument to form a valid opinion.
It doesn't matter if you are a pedophile or not if there is no God. This is known as an appeal to consequences of belief. "God must exist! If God did not exist, then all basis for morality would be lost and the world would be a horrible place!"
How about an appeal to fear? We should all be familiar with this one since our government has used it against us for the past 6 years or so. Most pedophiles are gay! There is also a problem with cause and effect (questionable cause) here. Is A the cause of B simply because they might occur together?
Here is one that really gets to me. The fallacy of the middle ground. Opinions A and B are extreme to one side or another. My opinion C must be correct because it lies in the middle. The middle ground often is correct but that is not always the case.
Statement: People are born gay. Question: What is your proof? Reply: No one has been able to prove it. This is an appeal to ignorance. The burden of proof is on the wrong side.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment