VioletKate99 t1_jd7nvgb wrote on March 22, 2023 at 12:59 PM

Reply to comment by Whetfarts69 in The Fallacy Fork: Why It’s Time to Get Rid of Fallacy Theory by CartesianClosedCat

Just pointing out a fallacy is not enough, you also have to be able to show how that fallacy discredits the argument as it is used. People commiting fallacies are just doing a quick patch job on a structure that is their argument. And as any patch job it can be just fine, ugly, or it can be a life hazard.

bigbenis21 t1_jdgbqcz wrote on March 24, 2023 at 4:39 AM

I really like your patchwork analogy because I always think of ideas as a boat with fallacies being flex tape. If I just put flex tape on a tiny hole in the back of my otherwise usable boat because I don’t like water splashing on my leg and making my pants wet, it’s really not that important and more of a personal preference thing.

If I have to wrap the whole middle of my boat so it doesn’t split in half, I might just need to accept the fact that it’s no longer seaworthy.

XiphosAletheria t1_jdjbz03 wrote on March 24, 2023 at 8:19 PM

>Just pointing out a fallacy is not enough, you also have to be able to show how that fallacy discredits the argument as it is used.

By definition the fallacy discredits the argument it was a part of. It does not, however, disprove the conclusion. If you say "the sky is blue because Joe Biden says so", I can point out that this is an argument from authority, and doing so immediately discredits your argument. The sky remains blue, however.

VioletKate99 t1_jdjo2br wrote on March 24, 2023 at 9:40 PM

That is true, but the point of the post is that people don't make these kinds of arguments in real life. If I say "yesterday the bottom of the sky was red, and I know because my brother told me and I don't think he would lie to me". This sentence reflects real life more because you example is based on the absurdity of someone arguing a known universal truth, that creates the exact kind of toy sentence example that can then be easily discredited.