Association fallacy

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With most negative uses of association fallacies, it relies on fear. In the former case, many of the acts that Stalin made are inherently fearful, but it is doubtful whether he ordered them on account of his atheism<ref>As Stalin clearly believed in himself, "atheist" may not exactly be the right term...</ref> or in the name communism. Even if this doubt wasn't present, to attribute the negative aspects of Stalin to these beliefs is fallicious as the beliefs ''themselves'' say nothing about mass murder. This is similar to how, in a post [[9/11]] world especially, moderate [[Muslims]] have been subject to unfortunate associations due to the acts of [[fundamentalist]]s and [[Jihad|Jihadists]]. In the latter case, the fear of nuclear weapons inspired by [[Cold War]] propaganda is used to suggest that nuclear power should be similarly feared, because it uses the same physical process, even though the process of fission itself is morally neutral.
 
With most negative uses of association fallacies, it relies on fear. In the former case, many of the acts that Stalin made are inherently fearful, but it is doubtful whether he ordered them on account of his atheism<ref>As Stalin clearly believed in himself, "atheist" may not exactly be the right term...</ref> or in the name communism. Even if this doubt wasn't present, to attribute the negative aspects of Stalin to these beliefs is fallicious as the beliefs ''themselves'' say nothing about mass murder. This is similar to how, in a post [[9/11]] world especially, moderate [[Muslims]] have been subject to unfortunate associations due to the acts of [[fundamentalist]]s and [[Jihad|Jihadists]]. In the latter case, the fear of nuclear weapons inspired by [[Cold War]] propaganda is used to suggest that nuclear power should be similarly feared, because it uses the same physical process, even though the process of fission itself is morally neutral.
 
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===Baiting===
 +
The construction "x-baiting," where x is an undesirable ideology or group of people, is often used when a speaker attempts to make an association (real or imagined) between a person or group and x. Examples include:
 +
*[[Green-baiting]], associating all [[environmentalism|environmentalists]] with [[ecoterrorism|ecoterrorists]].
 +
*[[Race-baiting]], making [[racist|racially divisive]] comments or associating a person of a certain race with some wingnut (e.g. associating black people with [[Louis Farrakhan]]).
 +
*[[Red-baiting]], connecting a person to some (usually imaginary) [[communist]] plot or associating him with communism in some way.
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 
 
*[[Godwin's Law]]
 
*[[Godwin's Law]]
 
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*[[Poisoning the well]]
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*[[Shill gambit]]
 
==Footnotes==
 
==Footnotes==
 
<references />
 
<references />
 
 
[[Category:Logic]]
 
[[Category:Logic]]
 
{{Logical fallacy}}
 
{{Logical fallacy}}

Revision as of 01:11, 26 June 2011

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Logic and rhetoric

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This car weighs just under a thousand kilos. A Lotus Elise weighs in at just under a thousand kilos. That makes this car a Lotus Elise!
—Richard Hammond, Top Gear.

The association fallacy is an informal logical fallacy where someone will promote an opinion or philosophy by recounting the values a specific person or a group that held that opinion or philosophy. The Richard Hammond quote above may have been made in jest, to appeal to the stupidity of such associations, but it is an extremely common, and often easy fallacy to make.

This fallacy can be done in either a positive or negative (derogatory) way. In both cases, it is equally fallacious. This is best demonstrated by common examples.

Contents

Positive uses

Positive association is called honor by association.

Example:

  1. Martin Luther King was a Baptist.
  2. King was a good person.
  3. Therefore, Baptists are good.

In this case, the fallacy implies that the good things that people associate with Martin Luther King came from him being a Baptist. While this may, in part, be true, it is fallicious to state that all Baptists will be good, or that someone becoming a Baptist will become good.

Negative uses

Negative association is called guilt by association.

  1. Stalin was an atheist.
  2. Stalin had millions of people killed.
  3. Therefore, atheism is evil.

Another classic example is the foundational principle of the modern anti-nuclear movement.

  1. Nuclear weapons, which can destroy civilization, utilize energy from fission.
  2. Nuclear power utilizes energy from fission.
  3. Therefore, nuclear power is bad.

With most negative uses of association fallacies, it relies on fear. In the former case, many of the acts that Stalin made are inherently fearful, but it is doubtful whether he ordered them on account of his atheism[1] or in the name communism. Even if this doubt wasn't present, to attribute the negative aspects of Stalin to these beliefs is fallicious as the beliefs themselves say nothing about mass murder. This is similar to how, in a post 9/11 world especially, moderate Muslims have been subject to unfortunate associations due to the acts of fundamentalists and Jihadists. In the latter case, the fear of nuclear weapons inspired by Cold War propaganda is used to suggest that nuclear power should be similarly feared, because it uses the same physical process, even though the process of fission itself is morally neutral.

Baiting

The construction "x-baiting," where x is an undesirable ideology or group of people, is often used when a speaker attempts to make an association (real or imagined) between a person or group and x. Examples include:

See also

Footnotes

  1. As Stalin clearly believed in himself, "atheist" may not exactly be the right term...
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