Appeal To Motive

	Appeal To Motive Appeal to motive is a pattern of argument which consists in challenging a thesis by calling into question the motives of its proposer. It can be considered as a special case of the ad hominem circumstantial argument. As such, this type of argument may be an informal fallacy. A common feature of appeals to motive is that only the possibility of a motive (however small) is shown, without showing the motive actually existed or, if the motive did exist, that the motive played a role in forming the argument and its conclusion. Indeed, it is often assumed that the mere possibility of motive is evidence enough. Examples * "That website recommended ACME's widget over Megacorp's widget. But the website also displays ACME advertising on their site, so they were probably biased in their review." The thesis in this case is the website's evaluation of the relative merits of the two products. * "The referee is a New York City native, so his refereeing was obviously biased towards New Yor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Ad Hominem ''Ad hominem'' (), short for ''argumentum ad hominem'' (), refers to several types of arguments, most of which are fallacious. Typically, this term refers to a rhetorical strategy where the speaker attacks the character, motive, or some other attribute of the person making an argument rather than addressing the substance of the argument itself. The most common form of ''ad hominem'' is "A makes a claim ''x'', B asserts that A holds a property that is unwelcome, and hence B concludes that argument ''x'' is wrong". Fallacious ''ad hominem'' reasoning occurs where the validity of an argument is not based on deduction or syllogism, but on an attribute of the person putting it forward. Valid ''ad hominem'' arguments occur in informal logic, where the person making the argument relies on arguments from authority such as testimony, expertise, or a selective presentation of information supporting the position they are advocating. In this case, counterarguments may be made that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Informal Fallacy Informal fallacies are a type of incorrect argument in natural language. The source of the error is not just due to the ''form'' of the argument, as is the case for formal fallacies, but can also be due to their ''content'' and ''context''. Fallacies, despite being incorrect, usually ''appear'' to be correct and thereby can seduce people into accepting and using them. These misleading appearances are often connected to various aspects of natural language, such as ambiguous or vague expressions, or the assumption of implicit premises instead of making them explicit. Traditionally, a great number of informal fallacies have been identified, including the fallacy of equivocation, the fallacy of amphiboly, the fallacies of composition and division, the false dilemma, the fallacy of begging the question, the ad hominem fallacy and the appeal to ignorance. There is no general agreement as to how the various fallacies are to be grouped into categories. One approach sometimes found in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Bulverism Bulverism is a type of ad hominem rhetorical fallacy that combines circular reasoning and the genetic fallacy with presumption or condescension. The method of Bulverism is to "assume that your opponent is wrong, and explain his error." The Bulverist assumes a speaker's argument is invalid or false and then explains the speaker came to make that mistake or to be so silly (even if the opponent's claim is actually right) by attacking the speaker or the speaker's motive. The term ''Bulverism'' was humorously coined by C. S. Lewis after an imaginary character to poke fun at a very serious error in thinking that, he alleged, frequently occurred in a variety of religious, political, and philosophical debates. Similar to Antony Flew's "subject/motive shift", Bulverism is a fallacy of irrelevance. One accuses an argument of being wrong on the basis of the arguer's identity or motive, but these are strictly speaking irrelevant to the argument's validity or truth. Source of the concept Lew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Call-out Culture Cancel culture, or rarely also known as call-out culture, is a phrase contemporary to the late 2010s and early 2020s used to refer to a form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles—whether it be online, on social media, or in person. Those subject to this ostracism are said to have been "cancelled". The expression "cancel culture" has mostly negative connotations, and is used in debates on free speech and censorship. The notion of cancel culture is a variant on the term ''call-out culture''. It is often said to take the form of boycotting or shunning an individual, often a celebrity, who is deemed to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner. Some critics argue that cancel culture has a chilling effect on public discourse, is unproductive, does not bring real social change, causes intolerance, and amounts to cyberbullying. Others argue that calls for "cancellation" are themselves a form of free speech, and that they promote accountabil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Conflict Of Interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations in which the personal interest of an individual or organization might adversely affect a duty owed to make decisions for the benefit of a third party. An "interest" is a commitment, obligation, duty or goal associated with a particular social role or practice. By definition, a "conflict of interest" occurs if, within a particular decision-making context, an individual is subject to two coexisting interests that are in direct conflict with each other. Such a matter is of importance because under such circumstances the decision-making process can be disrupted or compromised in a manner that affects the integrity or the reliability of the outcomes. Typically, a conflict of interest arises when an individual finds themselves occupying two soc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Cui Bono ''Cui bono?'' (), in English "to whom is it a benefit?", is a Latin phrase about identifying crime suspects. It expresses the view that crimes are often committed to benefit their perpetrators, especially financially. Usage The phrase is a double dative construction. It can also be rendered as ''cui prodest?'' ("whom does it profit?") and ''ad cuius bonum?'' ("for whose good?"). Background Another example of Cicero using ''Cui bono'' is in his defence of Sextus Roscius, in the Pro Roscio Amerino, once again invoking Cassius as the source: "Let that maxim of Cassius apply."Cicero, Pro Roscius Amerino 32.3. American sociologist Peter Blau has used the concept of ''cui bono'' to differentiate organizations by who has primarily benefited: owners; members; specific others; or the general society.Blau, Peter (1962). Formal Organizations. See also * Cherchez la femme * Follow the money Milgram experiment Whodunit General: Brocard (law) List of Latin phrases * List of l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Race Card Playing the race card is an idiomatic phrase that refers to the exploitation by someone of either racist or anti-racist attitudes in the audience in order to gain an advantage. It constitutes an accusation of bad faith directed at the person or persons raising concerns as regards racism.Schraub, David. "Playing with Cards: Discrimination Claims and the Charge of Bad Faith." Social Theory and Practice 42, no. 2 (2016): 285-303. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24871344. Usage The phrase is generally used by people to allege that someone has deliberately and falsely accused another person or group of people of being a racist in order to gain some sort of advantage. An example of this use of the term occurred during the O. J. Simpson murder trial, when critics accused the defense of "playing the race card" in presenting Mark Fuhrman's past as reasons to draw his credibility as a witness into question. Stanford professor Richard Thompson Ford has argued that the race card can be playe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Shooting The Messenger "Shooting the messenger" is a metaphoric phrase used to describe the act of blaming the bearer of bad news. Until the advent of modern telecommunication, messages were usually delivered by human envoys. For example, in war, a messenger would be sent from one camp to another. If the message was unfitting, the receiver might blame the messenger for such bad news and take their anger out on them. History An analogy of the phrase can come from the breaching of an unwritten code of conduct in war, in which a commanding officer was expected to receive and send back emissaries or diplomatic envoys sent by the enemy unharmed. During the early Warring States period of China, the concept of chivalry and virtue prevented the executions of messengers sent by opposing sides. An early literary citing of "shooting the messenger" is in Plutarch's ''Lives'': "The first messenger, that gave notice of Lucullus' coming was so far from pleasing Tigranes that, he had his head cut off for his pains; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Woman Card The woman card is an idiomatic phrase that refers to exploitation of either sexist or pro-female attitudes by accusing others of sexism or misogyny. A person exploiting such attitudes is said to be playing the woman card, gender card . Meaning The phrase is used to describe accusations of women either mentioning their gender to gain an advantage in discussions or implying or accusing other people of sexism in order to garner support. It has been viewed as a last resort tactic for people in discussions with Miranda Devine stating: "Playing the gender card is the pathetic last refuge of incompetents and everyone in the real world knows it." However, it has also been argued that making the accusation of someone playing the woman card is a way to belittle genuine concerns and the credibility of the person who it is aimed at. Politics Accusations of playing the woman card often occur in politics and elections. In 2012, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard made a speech in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]