Hey what’s up Thinkers! Kathy Gibbens here…
Let’s start off today by reviewing a fallacy we covered earlier this season: the Testimonial Fallacy. The Testimonial Fallacy happens when a statement is accepted as true simply because it is made by someone who is perceived as an authority or expert on the topic, or it’s made by a celebrity or well-known personality.
So, the question to ask yourself when you hear Testimonials online or in support of a particular product or service is this: “Is it really true that this person is qualified to give advice on this topic and to give it for me specifically?”
If you want to review or hear more about this fallacy, go back & check out Episode 102.
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Alright, let’s dive into today’s new fallacy, the Galileo Gambit. The Galileo Gambit happens when someone says that their claim MUST be correct simply because they’re being persecuted, ridiculed, or hated for holding that claim. And yes, it’s named after the famous scientist & astronomer Galileo, who was persecuted by the Roman Catholic church for his claim that the planets revolved around the sun, rather than the earth being the center of the universe. This fallacy is also called the Galileo Fallacy, the Galileo Argument, and the Galileo Defense.
Here’s a simple example of what this fallacy sounds like. Jack comes home and tells his Mom he discovered a new mathematical principle, that 2+2 actually equals 7, and that he knows it must be right because all the kids in his class were calling him names and all brilliant mathematicians throughout were called names when they made scientific discoveries, too. Ok, do you see the fallacy? Jack didn’t have any actual proof for his claim that 2+2=7, he was just using the taunting of his classmates as proof that he was right.
The problem with the thinking behind the Galileo Gambit is that they’re basing the “rightness” of their claim on the level of opposition they're receiving, rather than the argument itself. Is it possible that their claim & argument is right and that people are attacking them just because it’s going against the mainstream narrative? Yes, of course it is! However, to say the fact that they’re getting opposition is the PROOF that they’re right is incorrect. They need to actually have a real argument & evidence that supports their claim. And, often, people do have such proof, like Galileo did, and they’re persecuted anyways. That absolutely happens…a lot, actually. But for someone to say they must be right JUST BECAUSE they’re getting opposition is a faulty argument.
I have heard people in business organizations use this argument to try to keep their sales people selling products even when it wasn’t really working for them. They would say things like, “The fact that it’s hard and that people are laughing at you is proof that you’re on the right track! People laughed at Ray Krock, too, when he started McDonald’s and look how that turned out!” Ok, you see the fallacy there? They didn’t address the potential reasons the person was having difficulty selling the products, like their approach, the pricing or the messaging they were using. They simply used the fact that they were being laughed at as the proof that they were doing the right thing and that everything would work out in the end.
Question to ask yourself: “Do you actually have any proof besides being ridiculed?” *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?”
