PHI 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Argument From Authority, Ad Hominem, Gwyneth Paltrow

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 1101
• Professor: Jon Charles Miller

Document Summary

Argumentum ad hominem ; argument against the man. Unless the person is setting themselves up as an authority. 5 questions one should always ask regarding an assumed authority: Is the authority recognized by other recognizable authorities: thing is, they maybe aren"t a recognizable authority but could still be right. Is the authority an expert in the field in question: phd doctorates etc are only experts in the field they learned in. Is there genuine knowledge in the field: anybody can claim to be an expert in bigfoot or ufos , not recognizable as a field of study / true field of knowledge. Is there a large consensus among the authorities: eg linus pauling, who was a nobel prize winning chemist, advocated vitamin c, but ones that aren"t considered are celebrity endorsement. Eg gwyneth paltrow has no science background and doesn"t like gluten. Using emotions to appeal to logic: tu quoque. Two wrongs don"t make a right: straw man.