Hey what’s up Thinkers! Kathy Gibbens here…
Ok, let’s start off with a quick review of a fallacy we covered earlier this season: The Psychologist’s Fallacy. Hit pause real quick if you want to try to remember what this fallacy is. The Psychologist’s Fallacy happens when a person who is observing an event assumes that the person actually experiencing the event has the same mindset, feelings or reactions as them. While it’s originally attributed to psychologists, it’s not just psychologists who make this thinking error…we are all capable of falling prey to it.
The question to ask yourself if you think you’re facing the Psychologist’s Fallacy is this: “Is it really true just b/c I think it’s true? Or is that really what they’re thinking just b/c that’s what I would be thinking?”
If you want to hear more about this fallacy, check out Episode 82.
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Ok, let’s dive into today’s new fallacy, The Argument by Example Fallacy, or sometimes it’s called the Argument from Example Fallacy. From/By…whatever, it means the same thing. The Argument from Example happens when someone uses examples to support their claim or argument. Now, you may be thinking, what’s wrong with that? Why wouldn’t we use examples to back up our claim? And technically, there’s nothing wrong with it, but JUST using examples may not make for a solid case. Let me explain by giving you an example of the Argument by Example Fallacy. (See what I did there?)
Let’s say Zachary is complaining about how his brother, Everett, never makes his bed. He says, “He didn’t make his bed this morning and he didn’t make his bed yesterday, either!” Ok, so he used two examples to support his claim that Everett never makes his bed, and they may be true examples, but is it enough evidence to support his claim that Everett NEVER makes his bed? No, it’s not. Maybe Everett has been sick for the past 2 days and just didn’t have the energy to do it. Maybe Everett had early morning basketball practice and made his bed after he got home…Just using 2 examples isn’t necessarily good support for the claim Zachary is trying to make. Now, COULD his claim be true? Of course! But a much stronger case would need to be made. For instance, Zachary could say, “I checked Everett’s room everyday for the past month and he’s only made his bed 20% of the time.” Now that’s a different story. He’s providing data to back up his claim, rather than just using two examples. Do you see the fallacy here?
This fallacy is a hard one to recognize because it just seems like the person is giving illustrations for what they’re saying, and our brains like illustrations - they help us understand concepts. So it’s really subtle & hard to discern when someone is using examples to make their argument versus when they’re using examples to help you understand a concept better.
The problem with the Argument by Example Fallacy is that trying to prove a claim or justify an argument by just using a few examples isn’t always going to give a complete picture. Examples aren’t data or facts, they’re just examples. And, while they may be helpful in understanding or explaining the point you’re trying to make, they don’t always give the full picture. Usually the person using this fallacy is trying to make their case seem stronger than it is.
So, here’s the secret to discerning when someone’s committing a fallacy with their examples: If they have data AND examples to help make their point stronger, they’re probably not committing a fallacy, they’re probably using those examples to make their point. If they have only examples, they just may be committing the Argument by Example Fallacy.
And, I’ll add this: you have to look at the strength & validity of the examples being used. The more examples someone has, the stronger the argument….for instance, if Zachary had 30 examples of the bed not being made, that’s a much stronger argument than just having 2 examples. Also, the strength of the argument someone is making has to be taken into consideration. If Zachary just said, “I remember sometime last week Everett didn’t make his bed”. Well, that’s a really weak example & therefore a really weak argument to back up his claim.
And yes, if this fallacy sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a form of Hasty Generalization, which we talked about back in episode 38, so feel free to check that out again to refresh your memory.
Here’s another simple example of what the Argument by Example Fallacy sounds like: The new Mayor of the City claims that his tax hikes have been good for the people of his city. He said, “We have a new bridge over the river and a new skatepark!” Ok, so he gave 2 examples, but are those 2 examples really giving the whole picture? Not necessarily. He’s saying nothing about how those tax hikes have hurt single income families and made it harder for them to afford groceries & gas. So those two examples he gave aren’t the full picture and may not truly back up the claim he’s making.
Question to ask yourself: “Are those examples really proof of the claim they’re making or do they need to give real data?” *repeat*
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?”
