![]() However, if you were to write a research paper on why excessive sugar consumption is harmful to humans’ health, it would be fallacious to cite your doctor’s advice as a source. In this case, your doctor is qualified to give you medical and lifestyle advice, so there’s nothing illogical about telling your friends that this is why you began eating less sugar. For an appeal to authority to be legitimate, the authority must be qualified to speak on the subject being discussed, and their statement must be directly relevant to that subject.įor example, you might reduce your sugar intake and tell your friends you chose to do this because your doctor told you it would improve your health. They’re trying to ban plastic shopping bags.Īs seen in the last example, an appeal to anonymous authority can be attributed to a group as vague as “they.” Legitimate appeals to authorityĪs we mentioned earlier, there are some instances where supporting a claim with an expert’s insight is logically sound.According to scientists, 5G is harmful.Authors say you have to write every day if you want to become a good writer.Rather, the arguer attributes it to an unnamed individual or, more commonly, group of individuals. Appeal to anonymous authorityĪn appeal to anonymous authority is an appeal to authority that doesn’t attribute the claim to any specific person. ![]() Therefore, she’s not an expert on the kind of formatting that’s required in science courses.Īnother name for the appeal to false authority fallacy is an appeal to unqualified authority. Your sister might hold an advanced degree, but as a literature student, it’s likely she never or rarely used APA format. Sometimes, an arguer attributes their claim to a figure who’s an authority in an unrelated field-and other times, to a figure who’s not an authority at all! Appeal to false authorityįor example, you might claim that your older sister, who holds a master’s in literature, said it’s perfectly fine to use MLA format for your lab report. Not all appeal to authority arguments attribute their claim to a legitimate, qualified authority. What are the different types of the appeal to authority fallacy? It’s a declarative sentence that communicates a fact that could help Student A plan their course load. Notice how in this second example, the statement isn’t used as an argument or a rebuttal. ![]() Student B: My adviser told me I’m a stronger candidate for grad school if I take advanced writing courses. Student A: I really want to go to grad school, but I’m not sure how to stand out from the other applicants. However, the statement can also be used in a non-fallacious way. This is what makes it an appeal to authority fallacy. The applicant’s adviser isn’t part of the grad school’s admissions office, and their statement about advanced writing courses doesn’t negate the counselor’s statement about the required GPA. It might be a true statement, but in the context of this conversation, that doesn’t matter. Grad school admissions counselor: To get into grad school at our university, you need at least a 3.5 GPA.Īpplicant: My adviser told me I’m a stronger candidate for grad school if I take advanced writing courses. “My adviser told me I’m a stronger candidate for grad school if I take advanced writing courses.”Īlone, it’s a declarative sentence. The difference between a fallacious and non-fallacious appeal to authority, like these others, is how it’s used. Others include the slippery slope and sunk cost fallacies. This isn’t the only type of argument that has both fallacious and non-fallacious uses. ![]() Unlike, for example, an appeal to pity, it’s possible for an appeal to authority to be a logically sound argument. And this is where the appeal to authority fallacy can get tricky. You might ask yourself, “How can an authority’s statement be irrelevant? Isn’t citing credible sources the basis of a logically sound argument?” Other fallacies of relevance include the bandwagon fallacy and the red herring fallacy. That means the claim the arguer makes to support their statement is irrelevant to the discussion and thus illogical. Just like the other “appeal to” fallacies, the appeal to authority fallacy is a fallacy of relevance. Individual, who is an expert in Y field, says X is true. What makes the appeal to authority a logical fallacy is the lack of evidence provided to support the claim. A statement’s truthfulness has nothing to do with whether it’s fallacious or not. This authority figure could be anyone: an instructor, a politician, a well-known academic, an author, or even an individual with experience related to the claim’s subject. The appeal to authority fallacy is the logical fallacy of saying a claim is true simply because an authority figure made it. Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly What is the appeal to authority fallacy?
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