me: > > You don't seem to understand the difference between a statement of > > personal principle (which appears below the signature line) and an > > argument for a specific position (which appears above the line). I > > don't expect anyone to accept my statements of personal principle, > > though they might if they want. I hope to convince people of the stuff > > above the line.
Ian: > And you don't seem to understand that not all expressions of casual > name dropping when discussing an issue are instances of the so-called > fallacy of the argument from authority. If we were discussing Brownian > motion and I casually dropped the name of Einstein into the thread > should I rather have derived all the equations on my own rather just > use his name as a place holder? but you had written >William Gallie's essay was a trivial exposition of a minor problem of political discourse.< Is this Gallie person an authority like Einstein? I doubt it. Even Einstein wasn't perfect, so we can't cite him as the final authority on anything. -- Jim Devine "Knowledge is Good." -- motto, Faber College.
