| Fallacy | inflation of conflict |
|---|---|
| Definition and Examples | Description:Reasoning that because authorities cannot agree precisely on an issue, no conclusions can be reached at all, and minimizing the credibility of the authorities, as a result. This is a form of black and white thinking -- either we know the exact truth, or we know nothing at all. Logical Form: Authority A disagrees with Authority B on issue X. Therefore, we can say nothing meaningful about issue X. Example #1: My mom says that I should study for at least 2 hours each night, and my dad says just a half hour should be fine. Neither one of them knows what they are talking about, so I should just skip studying altogether. Explanation: A disagreement among experts does not mean that both are wrong, the answer is a compromise, or that there is no answer to be known; it simply means that there is disagreement -- that is all we can infer. Example #2: Scientists cannot agree on the age of the universe. Some say it is 13.7 billion years old, some say it is only about 13 billion years old. That’s a difference of almost a billion years! It should be clear that because there is so much disagreement, then the 6000 year old universe should be carefully considered, as well. |
Tags: fallacies
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