Bad appeal to authority is to me, the easiest and most interesting content fallacy.
A real world example of bad appeal to authority I have recently heard would be this: "Do not engage in any kind of conversation with any boy at the party tonight, it will end up in you having relations you will later on regret." My friend and I were getting ready at her place to go to a party when her brother came in and interrupted us to say this specific claim. Now my friend's brother, who is really protective, was using bad appeal to authority in the way that he is the eldest, and as her older brother, she should listen to what he says and follow his advise. This specific fallacy occurs when someone of a higher position or rank tries to persuade you that whatever they are saying is right because they are somehow "higher" than you are. In this specific example, since he is the eldest brother, his opinion matters and everything he says should be (but is not always) right. Had he stated his argument differently, my friend and I would not have rolled our eyes at him. Had he said something like "You girls be careful tonight, you never know what kind of people you will meet and some people might not have good intentions," we would have taken him more seriously and would have listened. We however are used to him, and knew he had good intentions at heart (:
Your example is right on. By using his “authority” to advise you and your friend on want you should do was ill-advised. It makes me laugh when I read what you believe he should have said to make a better case for himself and for his argument. Though he had good intentions his choice of words made it a laughing and even odd situation. This content fallacy is probably used a lot between siblings. I have had similar situations where my older brother and sister insist upon something because they said so. Creating an air of authority they do not really have.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that this fallacy is the most interesting and easiest one since we encounter “authority” almost every day in our lives. The example you used is also very interesting because as the eldest one in my family, I tend to kind of tell on my younger sister what is right and what is not to do at certain situations, so I find this example very relatable. However, even if I can relate to your friend’s big brother’s situation, I still think you’re right how even if somebody has more authority it does not mean that they are always right. There can be cases when the higher authority can also be unauthorized over a different topic. You did a great job! :)
I hadn’t heard of this fallacy before reading you post about it. Your example was perfect and really helped me to understand more about this fallacy and how it is used. I think this fallacy is often abused by people especially those who are older or hold a specific rank higher than those they are trying to advise. In your case this fallacy was used harmlessly as a way to protect you and your friend from creepy boys out at parties but I do think this fallacy is used a lot to persuade people to feel a certain way and control their actions.
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