Once you know what fallacies are, it’s tempting to try to catch people using them as often as possible. Take care that in doing so you don’t commit the fallacy of jumping the gun.
Actually I just made up the name of this fallacy – but it’s one of those things that happens so often that there almost needs to be a name for it. When you first learn about fallacies – maybe you’ve taken a class in critical thinking, maybe you’ve watched a bunch of Youtube lectures about fallacies, or maybe you’ve picked them up by watching or listening to other people argue a lot (hey, some people find it entertaining) – you might feel like you’ve discovered a secret weapon. Explaining that somebody is wrong, well sure and you’re right, that might feel good. But if you can whip out a fallacy diagnosis – BAM – that’s like a headshot. If you can put a name on why they are wrong, you’ve really got them.
The enjoyment of the satisfaction of diagnosing a person with whom you disagree of committing a fallacy [insert dramatic music here], however, may be so tempting that you’re lured into seeing fallacies everywhere. Like a person who is beginning to learn a martial art, you’ve got to use your fallacy sniffing skills responsibly. Don’t jump the gun and rush to a faulty diagnosis.1 [click to continue…]___________________
NOTES:
- As readers will likely know, the metaphor of “jumping the gun” refers to people at a race start line who bolt before the starter’s pistol has sounded, also known as a “false start.” It describes a person acting or speaking before it is appropriate to do so. [↩]
What’s the role of reason in faith?
A number of my Christian friends are drawing attention to a video of British News presenter Martin Bashir taking Bill O’Reilly to task. [Edit: Yes, I know MSNBC is American, but Mr Bashir is British.] I have no problem with people taking Bill O’Reilly to task. His approach to current affairs is not one I admire, to the point where I had misgivings about coming to his defence. But if I had hesitated to do this on the grounds that I do not “like” him, I would be displaying the same partisanship for which I am about to criticise both Bashir and my friends who are giving his comments such a generous review.
Now that I’ve made a blog post since changing the address to www.rightreason.org I feel like the new name has been broken in. But I need your help.
A few days ago I got home from a speaking tour in Hamilton, Muriwai Beach, Avondale (for those outside of New Zealand, those two are both in the Auckland region) and Tauranga. Fifteen talks over eight days! All the talks were very well received, and the discussions that followed were excellent.
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