Hey what’s up Thinkers! Kathy Gibbens here…
So, I’ve been so focused on trying to review some of the past fallacies that it’s been a hot minute since I’ve read a review that a listener has left for the show, so I thought I’d read one of those today. This one is from Instagram, from an account called Handsomecatgames. It says this, “I am a huge fan of your podcast. I have been able to use my noodle more than ever. My thinking is getting clearer and sharper. I am so glad I found you!” So, yay! Thank you so much for that message, I love to hear from my listeners and hear how the podcast is helping you. and if you’re not following me over on IG, I’d love to invite you to do so. I post reels about different fallacies and will repost memes & fallacies that I find there as well.
Let’s start off with a quick review of a fallacy we covered earlier this season, the Oversimplified Cause Fallacy. Do you want to hit pause real quick and see if you can remember what The Oversimplified Cause Fallacy is? The Oversimplified Cause Fallacy happens when someone tries to attribute a complex event or outcome to a single, oversimplified cause. If there are 10 things that contributed to a certain outcome, they’ll just focus on 1 of them and say that one thing is the whole reason we got the outcome we did.
Question to ask yourself if you think you’re facing the Oversimplified Cause Fallacy is this: “Is it really true that that’s the only thing causing this problem?”
If you want to review or hear more about this fallacy, go back & check out Episode 114.
I want to give a huge shoutout to this show’s sponsor, Classical Conversations. This is the homeschool organization where we have learned all these skills about how to think well! If you’re considering homeschooling & don’t want to do it alone, check out Classical Conversation’s model, where you can join a community of like-minded families and take the homeschool journey together. We have 2 free e-books for you if you’d like to learn more about homeschooling and what a classical education even is. Just fill out the form at www.classicalconversations.com/gibbens to get immediate access!
Alright, let’s dive into today’s new fallacy, the Appeal to Equality Fallacy. The Appeal to Equality Fallacy happens when somebody makes an argument that relies on the concept of equality or fairness to support a particular position, but the argument may not be logically sound, or the concept of what exactly is "equal" is not made clear. This fallacy is also sometimes called the Appeal to Equity, or the Appeal to Egalitarianism, which is a big word for the belief that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
Here’s a simple example of what the Appeal to Equality sounds like. 6-year-old Luke says to his parents, “It’s not fair that Gabe gets to stay up until 9 and I have to go to bed at 7:30. I should be able to have the same bedtime he has!”. Ok, so Luke is saying he should get the same bedtime as his brother, but he’s not taking into account the fact that he’s 6 and his brother is 13! There’s a big difference in those ages and in the amount of sleep that kids need at different ages. Now, maybe there could be a good reason for him to make this argument, but he’s not making a good argument in this example, he’s simply appealing to the idea of equality.
Sadly, our culture is FULL of examples of the Appeal to Equality. For instance, there are kids sports leagues that don’t keep score anymore because they don’t want there to be a winner or a loser, they want to have an equal outcome for both teams at the end of the game, regardless of how they played.
The problem behind the thinking in an Appeal to Equality is that while treating people equally is generally a noble principle & the right thing to do, it doesn't mean that everyone should receive the same outcomes in every situation, especially when individual effort or merit comes into play. And it doesn’t mean we should automatically make everything equal for everyone when there are a lot of other things that need to be taken into consideration.
Now, I also want to say that there is a difference between Equality and Equity. A lot of people have equivocated those two words to mean the same thing, but they don’t. I don’t have time to cover it in this episode, but I encourage you to look it up & learn the difference & talk about it as a family.
Another example of the Appeal to Equality, in my opinion, is grading on a curve. Grading on a curve refers to the process of adjusting student grades on a test or assignment after the test has already been graded in order to ensure that the grades are “properly” distributed throughout the class. For instance, if there’s a test that everyone bombs, the professor could take the top 10% of the grades and assign them As, then take the next 30% and assign them Bs, and so on. It’s a way of redistributing the grades in an attempt to make it more “fair” or “equal” or to raise everyone’s grades if the whole class did terribly. Grading on the curve is controversial in college classrooms because if you’re the student who did terribly but ended up with a C-, you’re ecstatic about being graded on the curve. However, if you’re the student who worked hard and got an A+, you could potentially end up with a lower grade when it’s based on a curve. Is that fair? Does the person who partied all weekend instead of studying deserve to get a better grade and the student who studied hard to get a good grade deserve to get a lower grade? And, yes, I’m using generalities to help make this concept simple to understand, but hopefully you get the point.
Question to ask yourself: “Is their basis for wanting equality valid?” *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?”
