Hi On Mon, 10 Feb 2003, Chuck Huff wrote:
> Jim Clark says: > > > >Even if we were to grant Rick these points, they do NOT resolve > >the current issue. Here is Lewontin on the question of the > >status of evolution ... clearly he thinks that evolution is a > >fact that cannot be denied by a "person who pretends to any > >understanding of the natural world." > > > > This is an appeal to authority (or struck me as one). I actually > agree with the argument that the Lewontin makes, but do not think it > should be accepted on its authority. Here is a short excerpt from one site on appeal to authority: http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-authority.html --------------------------------------------------------------- An Appeal to Authority is a fallacy with the following form: Person A is (claimed to be) an authority on subject S. Person A makes claim C about subject S. Therefore, C is true. This fallacy is committed when the person in question is not a legitimate authority on the subject. More formally, if person A is not qualified to make reliable claims in subject S, then the argument will be fallacious. --------------------------------------------------------------- At least according to this description and granting Lewontin's expertise in biology, I would have thought that an appeal to Lewontin would NOT be a fallacy. Best wishes Jim ============================================================================ James M. Clark (204) 786-9757 Department of Psychology (204) 774-4134 Fax University of Winnipeg 4L05D Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9 [EMAIL PROTECTED] CANADA http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark ============================================================================ --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
