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Over-reporting the Facts |
| Description: | ||
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| The argument proposes an explanation for a "fact" that is nonexistent, or the existence of which is doubtful. The arguer uncritically accepts as true the occurrence of events that are legendary or mythological, mere rumors or exaggerations, and, in any case, uncorroborated and unrepeatable. | ||
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| Example: | ||
| "The parting of the Red Sea may have been caused by the planet Mars flying too close to the Earth, before it settled into its present orbit." [People who accept the literal truth of the Bible already have an adequate explanation for this event: it was caused by God. Anyone who questions the explanation offered in the Bible should presumably question whether the event even occurred.] | ||
| "The albino alligators in the sewers of New York are the descendents of tiny alligators sold to children as aquarium pets. When the baby alligators got too big, people got rid of them by flushing them down the toilet." [Note: Cool as this story sounds, no one has actually seen alligators in New York's sewers.] | ||
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| Discussion: | ||
| Most of what we accept as fact is not based on personal
observation. How could it be? In a single lifetime no human could see more
than a tiny part of our planet and its history. The great strength of human
civilization is that we have learned how to share our experiences. Each of
us has a vast understanding of our universe and its history because we hear
- and believe - reports of other people's experiences, through reading and
conversations. However, while we benefit overall from this marvelous ability to share experiences, our inclination to accept that certain things happened merely because we are told that they happened leaves us vulnerable to false reports. Most of what we are told is true, so we develop a habit of believing what we are told. Yet sometimes we are told things that aren't true. Such false reports are not necessarily lies. Some unconscious exaggeration is typical when events are retold, so myths and legends tend to evolve slowly from more or less accurate accounts into implausible tales with a remote connection to the truth. The fallacy of Over-reporting the Facts exploits our tendency to believe what we are told. However, we should be suspicious when we hear a strained and unlikely explanation given to account for an implausible fact. |
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| Classification: A False Report Fallacy (a retroductive fallacy of soundness with a falsehood in the minor premiss). | ||
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| Source: I named this fallacy myself. However, numerous contemporary writers on critical thinking describe this fallacy in the context of discussions on pseudo-science. My favorite account is in Robert Cogan, Critical Thinking Step by Step, New York: University Press of America, 1998. | ||
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