Jed Rothwell wrote:
> John Berry wrote: > >> Dyson also does not believe in cold fusion. I do not know about these >> others. But it is not a matter of opinion; it is a matter of fact -- >> that is, scientific evidence. If these people deny the facts about >> cold fusion or global warming, and you beleive them, you have have >> made another logical error. See: >> >> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-authority.html >> >> >> No, because you'd never base everything on a an appeal to authority >> would you? > > No, I never do. I had excellent teachers and I learned to avoid all > of the common logical errors of this type. I often point to experts, > and I defer to their authority, but this is NOT an appeal to > authority. There is a great deal of confusion about this, so I > suggest you read the Nizkor site definition carefully. > > To simplify, an "appeal to authority" fallacy should more properly > called "an appeal to false authority." That is, a citation of a > person who thinks he is an authority, or claims he is, but who > actually is not. For example, suppose we are discussing > electrochemistry and you cite an opinion or statement by Bockris. You > have made a good point, because Bockris understands electrochemistry > and his pronouncements on the subject carry weight. If I try to > counter you by citing statements by Gary Taubes (from his book), that > would be an appeal to authority fallacy because even though Taubes > claims he knows this subject, he does not. It is not just their authority they want you to accept. It is the authority of their holy scripture, i.e. "the laws of physics". Harry
