Wisemanism
You know all those programs on UFOs, or Bigfoot, etc? And the witness, often a pilot with years of experience, or someone who's hunted and trekked in the great outdoors all their lives, talks about their sighting. They saw a weird light or craft, they saw what could only be called "Bigfoot" because it sure was no bear.
The next shot is of a skeptic, who offers his or her explanation for what happened. 99% of the time, the skeptic hasn't been to the location, doesn't know beans about the topic, but offers an opinion anyway. Being an uber skeptic trotted out from Storage Skeptics R Us, their opinion is considered valid. The blog Cabinet of Wonders gives us a very good and detailed definition, a little bit I've posted here:
:
The Anatomy of a Wisemanism
Wisemanism is a fallacy, and it happens thus:
You state p, which is a particular event.
I assert q, which is a generalisation, in such a way as to suggest that p is an instance of, or is governed by, q. However, it isn't, and I know it, else I haven't bothered to look.
For example, in the Alderney programme, we are shown the eye witness accounts of the event (p), and then Wiseman pops up and states that such momentary glimpses of things pose a cognitive problem, thereby implying that the Alderney sighting falls under this category (q).
I like the following; the writer wonders if this is important? Answering himself, he gives two reasons why it is, here's the second:
Second, it highlights the irony entailed by CSICOP-style pundits who profess to be champions of reason, and yet regularly violate the canons of logic and sound argument. Either they are oblivious to the rules (and so pretentious) or they disregard them when it suits them to do so (in which case they are acting in bad faith). Either way, questions need to be asked regarding what qualifies this media-savvy element of the secular-humanist and sceptical movements, which seems to have persuaded programme makers and editors that theirs is a voice worth hearing.
Much more in the article with other examples and more specifics.
(credit goes to The Anomalist for the link to Damn Data!/Cabinet of Wonders.)
Posted by Unknown
|
at
9:20 PM
