Improper Appeal to Authority

Improper Appeal to Authority

1. Fallacy of intimidations

   • a type
   • pressure by appealing for experts
   • putting pressure on sudience to accept the conclusion
   • everyone thinks it so should I

2. We tend to accept things just because "so&so" said so

3. Most of what we 'know'someone else told us

   • Reliance on another persons' obsesrvations
   • examples
     • phone number
     • weather forecasts
     • product info
     • medical diagnoses

4. Conditions

   • Appropriateness
     • nonexample
       • "van Gogh painnted The Stared Night in France in 1889'
         • An art history major would know if true or not
     • inappropriate to rely on another persons' say-so to back up most claims about a person's subjective
       • example: how you're feeling
     • fact or opinion
   • Consensus
     • how do you know
     • possible for one authority to make a mistake but the possibilty that 4 are wrong is less likely
       • majority rules
       • 9 out of 10 doctors like this
     • one lawyer graduated fron Yale another mail in degree
       • who would you want
   • Capability
     • know what you're talking about
     • competence
       • we relying on the authority whoose credentials indicate greater capability
       • example
         • if claim in question beling to theoretical phyicist would be in a position to know whether its true or not
     • opportunity
       • he or she is not capable of making an authoritative judgement about a particular claim w/out having had the opportunity to check it out.
   • credibility
     • well who are you
     • ingredent in breath mints
       • not just a regular person could tell you

5. Key Point

   • when the appeal is made in an argument under conditions that make such an appeal

6. Check Points

   • Arguer appeals to some authority to support
   • good reason to think that any one or more of the conditions
     • must be appropriate
     • must be capable
       • authority must be competent & truth of statement
     • must be fairly wide
     • authority must be credible

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