The Fallacy Fallacy
Type
Informal
AKA
Argument from Fallacy
Description
Assuming that a conclusion is false simply because the argument used to support it is fallacious.
Examples
- "Your argument for climate change contains a fallacy, so climate change must be false."
- "He made a hasty generalisation, so his entire conclusion is invalid."
Notes
- A bad argument for a true conclusion leaves the conclusion exactly as true as it was. What is true is unaffected by how well or badly it is argued for (see True). The correct response to a fallacious argument is to discard the argument, not the claim, and to look for a better one.
- This is worth remembering when cataloguing fallacies, as this vault does. Spotting a fallacy wins the exchange; it does not settle the question.