The alleged mistake of arguing that something is to be rejected because of its suspicious origins. More widely, any mistake of inferring something about the nature of some topic from a proposition about its origins. Frequently such reasoning is, actually, quite appropriate, as when one uses the make of an automobile as an indicator of its likely quality.See also genealogy.
Genetic fallacy
| Philosophy Dictionary: genetic fallacy |
| Wikipedia: Genetic fallacy |
The genetic fallacy is a fallacy of irrelevance where a conclusion is suggested based solely on something or someone's origin rather than its current meaning or context. This overlooks any difference to be found in the present situation, typically transferring the positive or negative esteem from the earlier context.
The fallacy therefore fails to assess the claim on its merit. The first criterion of a good argument is that the premises must have bearing on the truth or falsity of the claim in question.[1] Genetic accounts of an issue may be true, and they may help illuminate the reasons why the issue has assumed its present form, but they are irrelevant to its merits. [2]
According to the Oxford Companion to Philosophy, the term originates in Morris Cohen and Ernest Nagel's book Logic and Scientific Method.
Examples
From Attacking Faulty Reasoning by T. Edward Damer, Third Edition p. 36:
| “ | "You're not going to wear a wedding ring, are you? Don't you know that the wedding ring originally symbolized ankle chains worn by women to prevent them from running away from their husbands? I would not have thought you would be a party to such a sexist practice." There may be reasons why people may not wish to wear wedding rings, but it would be logically inappropriate for a couple to reject the notion of exchanging wedding rings on the sole grounds of its alleged sexist origins. | ” |
From With Good Reason: An Introduction to Informal Fallacies by S. Morris Engel, Fifth Edition, pg. 196:
| “ | America will never settle down; look at the rabble-rousers who founded it. | ” |
Notes
External links
- Nizkor: Genetic fallacy
- Fallacies of relevance: Genetic fallacy from atheism web
- Forms of the genetic fallacy
- Fallacy files: Genetic fallacy
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