| Appeal to Authority
(argumentum ad verecundiam) | While sometimes it may be appropriate to cite an authority to support a point, often it is not. In particular, an appeal to authority is inappropriate if: |
|---|---|
| (i) the person is not qualified to have an expert opinion on the subject, | |
| (ii) experts in the field disagree on this issue. | |
| (iii) the authority was making a joke, drunk, or otherwise not being serious A variation of the fallacious appeal to authority is hearsay. An argument from hearsay is an argument which depends on second or third hand sources. | |
| Examples: | |
| (i) Noted psychologist Dr. Frasier Crane recommends that you buy the EZ-Rest Hot Tub. | |
| (ii) Economist John Kenneth Galbraith argues that a tight money policy s the best cure for a recession. (Although Galbraith is an expert, not all economists agree on this point.) | |
| (iii) We are headed for nuclear war. Last week Ronald Reagan remarked that we begin bombing Russia in five minutes. (Of course, he said it as a joke during a microphone test.) | |
| (iv) My friend heard on the news the other day that Canada will declare war on Serbia. (This is a case of hearsay; in fact, the reporter said that Canada would not declare war.) | |
| (v) The Ottawa Citizen reported that sales were up 5.9 percent this year. (This is hearsay; we are not n a position to check the Citizen's sources.) | |
| Proof: | |
| Show that either (i) the person cited is not an authority in the field, or that (ii) there is general disagreement among the experts in the field on this point. | |