Flashcards
Authorities (continued)
Cards in this deck (4)
- 1In the previous lesson on "Authorities," you learned five questions that you should ask when seeking to determine whether a cited authority strengthens or weakens an argument. These five questions are1) What authority is being appealed to? 2) Is the authority credible? 3) Is the authority informed? 4) Is the authority unbiased? 5) Do all equal authorities agree?
- 2Is the authority informed?Ask yourself the following questions to assess whether the authority is truly informed: 1) Has the authority published any related books or articles? 2) Has the authority conducted any related research studies? 3) Does the authority seem to be up-to-date with current trends and studies?
- 3Is the authority unbiased? If the authority cited is biased, then the argument is weakened (see example 1 below). However, if the authority is unbiased, then the argument is much stronger (see example 2 below).Example 1: If a person is trying to prove that the Bible is God's Word and they quote Billy Graham (a well-known evangelist of the 20th-21st centuries) to "settle it," they are probably going to get laughed at. Of course Billy Graham believes the Bible is God's Word!
Example 2: If a person is trying to prove that God exists and they cite Richard Dawkins (famous atheist of the 20th-21st centuries) saying something like, "I'm not entirely sure God doesn't exist," the argument will likely gain a great deal of attention. Why? Because Dawkins is an atheist and certainly isn't biased towards God's existence. In fact, he is actually biased against God's existence. - 4Do all equal authorities agree? The last question you need to ask yourself involves considering authorities that are of equal weight within the same field as the authority that is present within the argument you are evaluating. Consider the example below.A person is arguing that the Honda Accord is the best car on the road. They cite Consumer Reports as their authority, which says, "According to our studies, the Honda Accord is the best all-around car on the road." However, after doing a bit of research yourself, you notice that Car and Driver says that the Toyota Camry is the best all-around car on the road, and Motor Trend suggests that the Ford Fusion is the best car to drive.
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- 11th grade Apologetics Flashcards on Authorities (continued), created by Payton Pye on 25/10/2023.
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- Payton Pye
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