Science Says

* From “The A**HOLE’S Guide To Arguing (Or, How To Succeed In Politics)”

Whenever you listen to a debate and someone delivers a line beginning with experts, scientist, leaders in the field or similar words and expressions, they are making an appeal to authority.

They are trying to make their own arguments better by claiming that they are backed by someone more competent, someone who should know what they are talking about. Like in the following examples:

“Science says that people who drink milk live longer, so in the interest of public health I think we should subsidise milk farms.”

“Scientist tell us that asteroids have near misses with the Earth all the time. So I say it’s time we had some weapons up there in space that could blast those suckers before they hit us.”

First of all, science is not a person and cannot say anything. Scientists however, say many things and quite often they also disagree. One day milk is good for you, the next day its bad. One day carrots can cure cancer, the next day they cause cancer.

So, which scientist are you referring to?
And in what branch of science?
What scientific data, study or report do you base your argument on?
And from what year are they?

‘The latest scientific evidence suggests’ would be more accurate, as science is ever changing. What we think we know today may change again tomorrow.

An appeal to authority is sometimes all that is needed to deter people from disagreeing. After all, if someone tells you that Einstein said (insert-whatever-rubbish-you-think-supports-your-claim -here), who are you to disagree? Share on X

Do you have a Nobel Prize in physics perhaps?
Einstein did.

As you can see, an appeal to authority may also be an implied attack on the opponent’s intelligence, competence and credibility.

And if the authorities your opponent refers to hold rank over the ones you refer to (my buddy is bigger and badder than your buddy), you might lose the argument.

© Merlyn Gabriel Miller