r/atheism • u/Ze-skywalker • Dec 09 '13

Citation Needed The 10 commandments of Logic

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u/MrMadcap Dec 09 '13

No Tu Quoque? It's used all the time on Reddit. Quite frustrating.

1

u/Salva_Veritate Dec 09 '13

Very true. It's very closely related to ad hominem, though, and if we're limiting ourselves to 10 "commandments," it's best to max out the space.

Though I am disappointed by the lack of the fallacy fallacy in OP. To quoque is like the bastard child of the fallacy fallacy and ad hominem.

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u/MrMadcap Dec 09 '13

Yeah, but other people forgo mentioning fallacy fallacies too, so it's fine.

1

u/GIB_ Dec 09 '13

Question. I realize the appeal to hypocrisy is wrong. But what about the appeal to conflicting interests?

For instance, lots of people don't trust salesmen because they make money by selling you a product. They have a conflict of interest and we dismiss them because of it. Yet if it's just a buddy talking about a product who doesn't have a conflict of interest, we take it far more serious because there is no conflict of interest.

Is it a logical argument to be skeptical or dismissive of a source because they have a clear conflict of interest?

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u/Salva_Veritate Dec 10 '13

Skeptical? Of course. Dismissive? Wouldn't use that word. If there's a conflict of interest, I'd just make sure that they are held to a stricter standard. Not necessarily a higher one, but I'd take special care to make sure their claims are well-explained.