Genetic fallacy
The genetic fallacy (also known as the fallacy of origins or fallacy of virtue[1]) is a fallacy of irrelevance where a conclusion is suggested based solely on someone's or something's history, origin, or source rather than its current meaning or context. This overlooks any difference to be found in the present situation, typically transferring the positive or negative esteem from the earlier context.
The fallacy therefore fails to assess the claim on its merit. The first criterion of a good argument is that the premises must have bearing on the truth or falsity of the claim in question.[2] Genetic accounts of an issue may be true, and they may help illuminate the reasons why the issue has assumed its present form, but they are not conclusive in determining its merits.[3]
According to the Oxford Companion to Philosophy (1995), the term originated in Morris Raphael Cohen and Ernest Nagel's book Logic and Scientific Method[4] (1934).
Examples
From Attacking Faulty Reasoning by T. Edward Damer, Third Edition p. 36:
| “ | "You're not going to wear a wedding ring, are you? Don't you know that the wedding ring originally symbolized ankle chains worn by women to prevent them from running away from their husbands? I would not have thought you would be a party to such a sexist practice." | ” |
There are numerous motives explaining why people choose to wear wedding rings, but it would be a logical fallacy to presume those who continue the tradition are promoting sexism.
From With Good Reason: An Introduction to Informal Fallacies by S. Morris Engel, Fifth Edition, pg. 196:
| “ | America will never settle down; look at the rabble-rousers who founded it. | ” |
See also
- Appeal to novelty
- Appeal to tradition
- Chronological snobbery, a fallacy where the thing in question (usually an idea) is very old, so it must be bad or inferior
- "Not invented here" is to dismiss outside ideas because they did not originate from here
- Etymological fallacy, a fallacy of assuming that the historical meaning of the word is the base of its "true" meaning
Notes
- ↑ "A List Of Fallacious Arguments". Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ↑ Attacking Faulty Reasoning: A Practical Guide to Fallacy-Free Arguments (Third Edition) by T. Edward Damer, chapter II, subsection "The Relevance Criterion" (pg. 12)
- ↑ With Good Reason: An Introduction to Informal Fallacies (Fifth Edition) by S. Morris Engel, chapter V, subsection 1 (pg. 198)
- ↑ Honderich, Ted, ed. (1995). "Genetic fallacy". The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-866132-0.
External links
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