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gimboarretino t1_jd9bexb wrote

Reply to comment by AllanfromWales1 in The Fallacy Fork: Why It’s Time to Get Rid of Fallacy Theory by CartesianClosedCat

This is true only for empirical conclusions. "The grass is green" might be a correct statement even if I reach it with illogical argumenets.

But if don't have empirical counter-factual elements (and you don't have them in many fields) a sound logic is all you have.

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AllanfromWales1 t1_jd9he9t wrote

Example?

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gimboarretino t1_jd9r0yx wrote

"Slavery is ethically acceptable" or "The only true meaning of life is chasing pleasure" "The Godfather is the best movie ever"

Demonstrate that I'm wrong/right with a illogical and fallacious arguments.

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AllanfromWales1 t1_jd9tqnh wrote

If you accept that starting from a false premise counts as a fallacious argument that's easy. Example:

  • The bible is the source of all valid ethics
  • The bible approves of slavery [demonstrably true]
  • Therefore slavery is ethically acceptable

or

  • The quality of a movie can be assessed by its reviews in the media
  • Media reviews of the Godfather were more positive than for all other films in history [almost certainly not true]
  • Therefore the Godfather is the best movie ever.
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gimboarretino t1_jd9z8qx wrote

yeah, and starting from different false premises you can easily get to the opposite outcome (slavery non acceptable / Godfather not the Greatest).

How do you establish which is the best conclusion (truth or merely acceptable) if not on the basis of a rigorous check on logical reasoning?

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AllanfromWales1 t1_jda59b4 wrote

Did I ever suggest to the contrary? A combination of checking the validity of the premises and the logic of the argument is the only tool we have.

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EatThisShoe t1_jdavpje wrote

Those are just subjective statements. you don't even need logic or facts, at the end of the day you can feel one way and other people can feel differently, and neither will be right or wrong.

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gimboarretino t1_jdbvwqy wrote

Well, those are the kind of thems around which our entire existence revolves and around which a good deal of discussion takes place.

ethics, politics, laws... and a logical evaluation is the only one you can make if you want to determine which are correct/acceptable and which are not

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