Judyth Vary Baker: Living in Exile

[Jack White]

Were Jim to respond to his own posting, I am sure he would say something like:

"Argument from Consensus
Argumentum ad Numerum

Category:
Fallacies of Relevance > Appeal to Authority


Explanation:
This fallacy occurs any time the sheer numbers of people who agree to something is used as a reason to get you to agree to it and takes the general form:

1. When most people agree on a claim about subject S, the claim is true (normally an unstated premise). Claim X is one which most people agree on. Therefore, X is true.
This fallacy can take on the direct approach, where a speaker is addressing a crowd and makes a deliberate attempt to excite their emotions and passions in an attempt to get them to accept what he is saying. What we see here is the development of a sort of "mob mentality" — people go along with what they hear because they experience others also going along with it. This is, obviously enough, a common tactic in political speeches.

This fallacy can also take on an indirect approach, where the speaker is, or seems to be, addressing a single person while focusing on some relationship that individual has to larger groups or crowds."


Any "appeal to authority" DEPENDS on WHO the authority is and what is their
expertise. There are many levels of expertise and knowledge. A mere popularity
poll means little.

Right, Jim?

Put another way, we might say that G. W. Bush was one of the most popular
presidents ever because he was elected president twice by a majority of
voters. But this is contrary to poll ratings, historians and public opinion.

Also, I challenge some on the list...for instance Robert Chapman, who was
anti-JVB, as I recall. Photos and names are insufficient. Each should have a
relevant statement.

I am sure that Jim did not purposely post a logical fallacy.