35 Lessons in Critical Thinking: Think Like a Debater
Transcript
Hello, I’m Pang Ying. Welcome to the Q&A for Episode 12 of Think Like a Debater.
Q1: ‘I would never trust the workout plan this gym trainer made for me. I doubt his professionalism; he clearly cannot even control his own appetite!’ What is wrong here?
A：The speaker uses someone’s appearance or build as evidence disproving that person’s professional judgment. The evidence is irrelevant, so this is ad hominem.
What makes it deceptive is the question whether a trainer’s weight relates to professional skill. Intuitively, we easily judge a trainer’s expertise by build, and may even judge anyone’s ability by body and appearance.
In reality, weight has many causes that differ among individuals and no direct connection to professional competence.
My own trainer creates excellent workout plans, yet his build changes considerably with hormone levels, medication for illness, and the pressure and intensity of running a business.
Because so many factors affect weight, we cannot use it directly to assess expertise in designing exercise plans.
We can talk with the trainer and try the plan, judging actual content and results.
Q2: Why is ‘Everyone says so, therefore it must be right!’ an appeal to improper authority?
A：Why do we reason this way? It shows that we treat ‘everyone’ or ‘the majority’ as a kind of authority.
We intuitively assume that if everyone does something, there must be a reason, and therefore appeal to that authority. But ‘everyone’ and ‘the majority’ are not authorities. This is an appeal to improper authority.
We have discussed how what is does not determine what ought to be. That a practice exists means it has causes, not that it is right or reasonable.
Q3: Can you give another example each of ad hominem and appeal to authority?
A：Begin with ad hominem.
Recall the motion: ‘At age twenty, should you accept a chance for overnight fame?’ The affirmative guests had themselves become famous overnight and remained successful.
If the opposition merely saw them onstage and said, ‘Audience, never trust their views; they are survivorship bias,’ that would be ad hominem.
2021.12.02
Audio in Chinese
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