A relevance fallacy occurs when an argument is supported or disproven based on irrelevant information. Ad hominem attacks and appeals to authority or ignorance are common examples of this. The primary aspect is attempting to discredit an argument using irrelevant information.
A relevance fallacy is one of several types of fallacy in which an argument is supported or disproven based on information that is actually irrelevant to the argument being made. One of the most common fallacies of relevance is the use of ad hominem arguments, where the character of a person making an argument is attacked as a way to discredit the argument without any points being made about the argument itself. A materiality fallacy can also include different types of appeals, such as an appeal to authority or an appeal to ignorance.
The primary aspect of a relevance fallacy is that someone attempts to support or discredit an argument based on information irrelevant to that argument. An ad hominem attack or argument is one of the simplest and most obvious ways this type of mistake is made. Perhaps “Bob,” for example, is arguing that convicted felons should have the right to vote in the United States. An ad hominem attack on Bob might include him being a convicted felon, possibly with details of his crime and other information about his character intended to make him look bad. None of this information has anything to do with whether criminals should be able to vote, however, a relevance error has been made.
Other common forms of relevance fallacy include various appeals which are often made in an argument. An appeal to authority, for example, is an attempt to strengthen an argument based on the authority of the person making it. This is the opposite of an ad hominem attack, and is used to suggest that the merits of the person making an argument should strengthen the argument itself. However, since the person making a statement has no actual impact on the factual accuracy of a statement, this is also a materiality fallacy.
A plea of ignorance is also a common type of materiality fallacy, where someone makes his case by claiming it has not been disproven. This type of argument is often used for claims that are currently difficult or impossible to disprove completely. An appeal to ignorance would be the argument that “Since no one has proved that life does not exist elsewhere in the universe, life must therefore exist elsewhere in the universe.” This is a relevance fallacy, however, as it shifts the burden of proof away from the argument itself and onto the opposing viewpoint, which is irrelevant to the specific argument being made.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
