“…How can a man be born when he is old?  can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?  (John 3)

 

Nicodemas, in his night time visit with Christ seems to try and lighten things up or appeal to humour…this could be a fallacy.

In this Article (DV) we will again list fallacies persons use in argument or on making a point.  Recognizing these will help you spot the weakness of person’s statements, beliefs, arguments, and even a person’s pathology. We will use a bullet point form to list the fallacies persons use every day.  We will restate some of the fallacies we have written before.

*The appeal to authority: This is using an authority figure to support  one’s point.
Ex. “The preacher said so”  or  “The President said…”  or  “The Pope says good works paves the road to Heaven.”
Authority or power does not equate to truth or give weight to an argument if the authority is wrong.
A response to this fallacy could be, “So what?”

*The appeal to experience”  This fallacy tries to use experience to shut you up.
Ex. “Look, he’s been here for years and you are just starting out.”  or  “I’ve been doing this for years, trust me.”
A response to this fallacy could be, “I know you have much experience and you certainly know what you are doing, but, if you will, I read an article on this and it showed X.”  This may sound like an appeal to authority and it is, but as authority can be wrong, authority can be right. Experience is the best teacher, it has been said and it is a wise person who defers to experience, but experience itself, does not equate to truth.

*The appeal to fear:  This is used by CEO’s, the media, politicians, and some preachers.  Ex.  “We can’t do that, we don’t know what will happen.”  or  “The Republicans will take away your social security benefits.”  or  ” Trump is going to destroy this country.”
A response to this fallacy could be,  “Hey, let’s calm down and look at this logically and seriously.”  Fear is a good thing if it is used properly.  When a preacher teaches on the doctrine of Hell, he is using fear, but fear is being used correctly and with the proper intent.  when a politician tells the elderly that Trump is going to take away their social security, it is fallacious and the intent of using fear is wrong and dirty.

*The appeal to pity:  This is used by charities. This fallacy greatly angers me.  It is a low blow by advertisers or charities.  I am not against charity…I am all for charity,”…the best of these is charity.”  “Don’t you care?’  or  ” For only thirty-three cents ($.33) a day…”  or  “How can you sit there and eat that while children are dying from hunger?”  This fallacy is very dirty.  The things the user of this fallacy depicts through word or picture or tone of voice may be true, but they are using a fallacy to break you down.  A response to this fallacy could be, “Give me the facts of the matter, you need not play on my sympathy…that is offensive to me.”  I’m reminded of a quote by the unrecommended comic, Sam Kinnison, “You’re right there, give the kid a candy bar!!!”

*The appeal to demonization:  This is used by politicians very much of the time.  An Ex.  “White supremicists support Donald Trump!”  White supremicists or ignorant fools, as I call them, supporting Trump does not make Trump one of there’s.  The Catholic Church has canonized many a saint, but this does not make them Catholic and unworthy of our consideration and reading. Augustine is canonized by the Catholic Church, but the truth is, Augustine is the grandfather of the Reformation, which attacked the Catholic Church at it’s foundations.  Many Catholics take C.S. Lewis as their own.  Lewis was in no way, a Catholic. I am surprised the Catholic Church has not canonized Lewis.  I know, I know, Lewis never performed a miracle, but the Catholic Church can do what they normally do, make things up as they go. [Sidenote: A miracle is a prerequisite to sainthood in their made up religion.]  [Another sidenote: I do not disparage the members of the Catholic Church, we have much spiritual family in that system, but I do denounce and condemn, in the strongest way, the Catholic Church and the whore’s Hierarchy…Pope Benedict excluded.]

*The appeal to the population or the majority:  This is used because we fall for it every time.  An Ex. “Everyone likes it”  or  “Everyone is doing it”  or  “Everyone is in agreement.”  In the early three-hundreds (300’s) Athanasius was told, “The whole world is against you!”  Athanasius responded with, “Then I am against the whole world!”
The majority does not equate to truth.

*The appeal to flattery:  This is another dirty trick.  “We know [T[hou art a [M]an come from God.”  Flattery is used to break a person’s guard down. The Book of Proverbs has much to say about the person who uses flattery as a tool and a weapon and it is not flattering.  Persons fall for this fallacy because persons are vain. A response to this fallacy is, ” Flattery will get you no where.”

The appeal to volume: This fallacy is used when a person has no support for his or her point.  The fallacy is the volume or the loudness of the person trying to get what he or she wants. Ex. “I KNOW WHAT I’M TALKINg ABOUT!!!!!!!!  #&^! IT”  Loudness does not equate to truth.  Do not crumble under the sound waves of the fallacious person with no support or evidence.

Reader, this knowledge can be used immediately.  When a person is trying to make a point listen for these fallacies or dirty tricks and do not fall(acy) for these dirty tricks.  Take the fallacy user’s point or argument down premise by premise.

Godspeed.