If you missed the first post on How to Think Better, you can read it here.
Have you noticed any false dilemmas or false dichotomies over this week? I’ve seen several… today…. and it’s 9:00 in the morning.
There are logical fallacies everywhere.
Why does it matter, Kelly?!
It matters because people make a lot of decisions based on faulty information. Those decisions could lead to disastrous consequences.
If I make parenting decisions based on a false dilemma (i.e., I give my child everything she wants or I don’t love her), I’m going to be a terrible parent.
That’s how we got Veruca Salt.
Today we’re going to look at two more common breakdowns in thinking. While you’re likely familiar with these terms, we’re going to look at how they’re disguised in newspeak.
Ready? Let’s get started:
Bandwagon
“If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it, too?”
Ah, that classic “mom question” about not following the crowd. We’re above that now. We’re grownups, for crying out loud! We know better than to do or say something just because everyone else is.
Hahahahahaha
How cute.
We’re still susceptible to bandwagon thinking, but it’s dressed up differently now. Now we see words like, “consensus,” and, “trend.”
While these “trends” can sometimes be harmless, they can also wreak havoc.
I’m looking at you, mullets.
If an idea is accepted by a lot of people, that has zero bearing on the idea’s validity. The idea could be true (e.g., the world is spherical), or it could be false (e.g., the earth is the center of the universe).
The number of people who agree doesn’t have any relevance.
When you see this idea presented in headlines and friends’ well-meaning posts, you are not going to see something like, “Believe me! I’m telling the truth because a lot of people think I am!”
No, you’ll see phrases like, “scientists agree” or “the consensus is…” These phrases may be chosen on purpose, or they may be chosen subconsciously.
Either way, we have to recognize them for what they are: glitches in sound logic.
But that’s not the only fallacy we’ll look at today. Next up?
Appeals to Authority
This one has a little more nuance to it. An appeal to authority, sometimes called an argument from authority, is when someone uses an authority’s thoughts as evidence for an argument.
“My grandpa used to think [insert opinion here], and if it was good enough for him, then it’s good enough for me.”
In that example, the person is using their grandfather’s opinion to justify their own opinion. Grandpa is the authority they are referencing.
But this appeal is not confined to family members. Not by a long shot.
Let’s revisit that phrase, “scientists agree.” In that phrase, not only do we see bandwagon, but we also find an appeal to authority. In this case? The authority is the scientists.
If you want a fun little project, go visit a news network website. See if you can find the phrase, “experts say” in one of their headlines.
(I actually visited two well-known news sites, each with a different political lean. I found that exact phrase on both.)
But wait!
There is a big caveat here.
When two people agree on the source of authority, they can reason together consistently.
For instance, if two Christians are discussing a doctrinal point, and they both believe in the infallibility of the Bible, then they can and should use that as their source of authority.
On the other hand, a Christian and a Muslim cannot use their respective sacred texts as authority with the other, because neither one views the other’s text as authoritative. They have to start somewhere else and go from there.
If you want to discuss something with someone, you both have to agree where your authority comes from, or the discussion will eventually be thwarted.
But hey, if you enjoying banging your head against a wall, go for it.
So what?
If you can recognize bandwagon and appeals to authority, you’re halfway there.
It’s one thing to memorize a logic term for a test in school, but it’s another to recognize it and understand when it’s being used.
And trust me, it’s being used a lot. I’m an expert on the matter, in fact. A lot of people say so. (See what I did there?)
Here’s to your week being full of health and sound thinking.