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The Ad Verecundiam Family - Personal |
| Ad verecundiam is a Latin phrase that actually means "(appeal) to
modesty." However, it is generally referred to as "Appeal to
Authority." The arguments in this family appeal to the modesty, i.e. lack of
knowledge or expertise, of the listener (and also generally of the
speaker). Since the listener is too modest to claim to be an expert in the
subject under discussion, the speaker attempts to settle the question by
citing the authority of someone who is an expert. Fallacies in this family share the characteristic that they try to support a position by appealing to the mere opinion (rather than the considered arguments) of presumed experts who hold the position. The ad verecundiam fallacies can be distinguished from each other by considering who is appealed to as an expert. In the "personal" group, this is actually a person, someone to whom actual opinions and expertise might actually be attributed.
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| The fallacies in the personal Ad Verecundiam Family are...
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