Friday, May 27, 2016

Today's Logical Fallacy is... Blood is Thicker than Water!

(Favoritism, Compadrismo, "For my friends, anything," Reverse of Ad Hominem)   

The reverse of the “Ad Hominem,” this fallacy argues that a position/idea/argument must be true/good because of a particular individual who is involved. A classic example is investing in a friend’s business even though your friend may not have the skills or knowledge necessary to successful run a business. It isn’t a fallacy if the individual from whom you are basing your claim is actually qualified and you are basing your opinion on their qualifications; it’s only a fallacy when you base it on who the person is.

Examples:

"My brother-in-law says he saw you goofing off on the job. You're a hard worker, but who am I going to believe, you or him? You're fired!"

“My friend is running for office, and I just know he’d be a great representative.”

“My sister recommended this plumber, so he has to be good.”  

“He’s a member of our church, so he can’t be wrong!”

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