Logical fallacy #9: Appeal to authority

When she was in fifth grade, my daughter Tallulah begged me for a pair of headphones with cat ears. I told her I thought the ones that she had were still perfectly good. She responds that they don’t work very well and she is sure the cat ear headphones will be MUCH better, because Ariana Grande had some.

Definition: Often we add strength to our arguments by referring to respected sources or authorities and explaining their positions on the issues we’re discussing. If, however, we try to get readers to agree with us simply by impressing them with a famous name or by appealing to a supposed authority who really isn’t much of an expert, we commit the fallacy of appeal to authority.

 

Example A: “We should abolish the death penalty. Many respected people, such as actor Sean Penn, have publicly stated their opposition to it.” While Sean Penn may be an authority on matters having to do with acting, there’s no particular reason why anyone should be moved by his political opinions—he is probably no more of an authority on the death penalty than the person writing the paper.

(Adapted from The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Example B: Pennélope writes,

A slightly recent example of this fallacy is when many Republicans believed the 2020 elections were rigged because Donald Trump said so. The error here is accrediting Trump and only building up their arguments with his (erroneous) point of view. Trump is not a specialist in that department and therefore cannot be used as a reliable source. Also, in an argument citation shouldn't be the only concept you expose in argument. One must add proof, surveys, statistics, etc.  

Tip: There are two easy ways to avoid committing appeal to authority: First, make sure that the authorities you cite are experts on the subject you’re discussing. Second, rather than just saying “Dr. Authority believes X, so we should believe it, too,” try to explain the reasoning or evidence that the authority used to arrive at his or her opinion. That way, your readers have more to go on than a person’s reputation. It also helps to choose authorities who are perceived as fairly neutral or reasonable, rather than people who will be perceived as biased.

 

(Credit: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)