Hey guys! I am so glad you’re here, learning how to think well about the things you’re hearing on a regular basis! Are you finding yourself asking questions when you hear things that don’t sound quite right? Have you picked up on some of the fallacies we’ve talked about here in the podcast? If so, yay! It’s working! You’re starting to recognize bad thinking when you hear it! That’s exactly the goal of this podcast!
And I will say this, parents…watch out b/c once you teach these to your kids, they’ll start to point out all the times you use bad reasoning, lol! But that’s good! That’s exactly what you want - a kid who knows HOW to think! Now, if you are that kid who is hearing your parents commit fallacies…be sure you’re pointing them out in a respectful way…alright? Deal?
And seriously, I would LOVE to hear the things you’re finding - I want to do some special segments on the show where you send in the fallacies you’re discovering and I’ll talk about them…the more you can hear examples of bad thinking, the easier it is to recognize them in real life. Just listen to the end of the podcast to find out how you can connect with me. If you’re on Instagram and see something, just tag me and I’ll be able to check it out that way, too.
Ok, on to our New Fallacy of the day, which is special pleading. Special Pleading is when someone tries to claim to be an exception to the rule that they expect to be applied to everyone else.
Special Pleading is actually a form of Red Herring b/c when someone calls for an unjustified exception to a rule or an argument, they’re avoiding the issue. It’s saying that rule doesn’t apply to me…I am the exception.
Here’s a quick example: “People shouldn’t steal from stores, but I had to…I lost my job last week”. Do you see how this person is applying a double standard here? They’re saying that this rule doesn’t apply to me, but it applies to everyone else. It’s a way to justify bad behavior.
The problem with the thinking here is that it’s creating a double standard for themselves or for a certain group of people. The reality is: People don’t like to be wrong, so one of the ways we justify our wrong behavior is to find some way to excuse it and explain why it was ok for US to behave this way, while also maintaining that the behavior is wrong for others. It’s REALLY easy for us to create these justifications, and it’s really hard to have the integrity it takes to honestly say, “Yeah, I did it and it was wrong.”
Here are a few real-life examples of special pleading that are happening in society right now: “You can’t have a say in discussions about women’s health issues because you’re a man.” Really? Just b/c someone is a man, does that mean they know nothing about physical issues that affect women? Does that mean they don’t or shouldn’t care about the women in their lives? That’s a Special Pleading fallacy.
Or, how about this one…”Vaccines are mandated for everyone except Congress and Postal Workers.” Now, don’t get all emotionally triggered and bent out of shape! I don’t care what you choose to do for yourself & your family when it comes to vaccines, but the reality is, this is a great example of Special Pleading! It’s saying this mandate applies to everyone…. except for these few groups of select people.
Question to ask yourself: “Is it really true that the rules should be different for this person or group? Or is this distracting us from the issue at hand?” *repeat*
Alright, that’s it for today. Join me next time when we’ll be discussing a Fallacy called Slippery Slope!
Remember: When you learn HOW to think, you will no longer fall prey to those who are trying to tell you what THEY want you to think and it all starts with asking one simple question: “Is that really true?”
