Hey, what’s up! Welcome back, I’m so glad you’re here, let’s start today’s episode with a quick review of the Slippery Slope fallacy: The Slippery Slope fallacy says that if we take this first step down a certain path, there’s nothing to stop us from taking all the next steps as well. It’s saying that if we allow this one thing to happen, it will set off a chain reaction that will end in catastrophe. If you’ve ever read the book series, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, you’ve seen a cute example of this fallacy!
If you want to review or hear more about this fallacy, go back & check out Episode 11.
Alright, let’s dive into a New Fallacy today! It’s another one with a Latin name: Tu quoque. Tu quoque simply means, “You too”. The Tu Quoque fallacy happens when you ignore or belittle someone’s argument on the basis that they do the thing they’re telling you not to do…or they don’t do the thing they’re telling you to do. I like to call this the “pot calling the kettle black” fallacy or the “three fingers pointing back at you” fallacy b/c it’s almost like you’re dismissing what the person says by replying, “Yeah, well what about you?” Little kids do this all the time! This fallacy is sometimes called an Appeal to Hypocrisy.
Here’s an example of what this sounds like: Tony: “Dude, don’t bite your fingernails, it looks gross & besides, it hurts.” Alex: “Who are you to talk? You’ve been biting your fingernails since you were 6 years old!” Do you see the problem there? The fact that Tony has been biting his fingernails since he was six years old has nothing to do with whether his argument is valid or not. In this case, the fallacy is being committed by the listener, who is ignoring the other person’s advice b/c of what he sees as hypocrisy, when really, it could be wisdom!
Just b/c the person does the thing they’re telling you not to do doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it! The person’s personal hypocrisy isn’t the thing that makes the advice good or bad. You have to actually look at whether the advice is good or bad!
Now, from the speaker’s side, I think almost every president ever has committed this fallacy. When asked about the state of the economy, how often do we hear whoever the current president is blame his predecessor for how they handled the economy? It happens all the time! And sure, the prior administration definitely has an impact, but so often they're using a tu quoque fallacy to take the pressure of themself and place the blame elsewhere.
Used this way, the Tu Quoque is actually a combination of the “Ad Hominem” fallacy and the “Red Herring” fallacy that I talked about back in Episodes 7 & 9. It’s avoiding criticism by pointing the finger back at the other person as a way of distracting them from the original criticism, question or argument.
And here’s the thing…this is a very commonly used fallacy for one simple reason: it works! People are so easily distracted these days and they don’t know how to ask good questions & think for themselves that as soon as someone says, “Yeah, well, what about you?” they’re instantly taken off track and they forget what the question even was and are now looking accusatorily at the other person!
Another version of the Tu Quoque fallacy is when someone claims that two wrongs now make a right. That you were justified in treating them awfully b/c they treated you awfully. This is not a good argument…you do not become any less guilty just b/c someone else also did the same thing!
This is what people do when they get pulled over by the police for speeding and argue when they get a ticket by saying, “There were 3 other people going faster than I was - they should be the ones getting the ticket, not me!”
Do you see how they’re shifting the blame & avoiding the original issues which was their speeding?
So, the question to ask yourself if you think you’re facing a TuQuoque fallacy is: “Does that have anything to do with the original question or argument?”… *repeat*
Alright, that’s it for today, come back next time when we’ll be talking about the Genetic Fallacy.
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?”
