3 ms·
I don't think there's a problem with fictional works' authors being unknown or anonymous. The problem lies in nonfiction works that seek to directly convey any
by domador 8y ago
I don't think there's a problem with fictional works' authors being unknown or anonymous. The problem lies in nonfiction works that seek to directly convey any kind of knowledge or wisdom that is difficult to judge and evaluate independently on its own merits (with would cover just about everything outside the hard sciences). There is value in knowing the identity and character of an author, as well as the fact that they associated their personal reputation with the book they wrote.
For example, If I look for a book on developing physical fitness, I want to know who the author is and how fit or disciplined they are. If I read a book about history, I want to know how much the author has studied their topic, whether through formal scholarship or not. If I read a biography, I'd like to know if it's written by someone who personally knew their subject, how close or far removed the author was in time and space, and the kind of scholarship that the author is known for.
Identity and reputation matter when evaluating sources of knowledge in topics that you don't have the time to learn and master yourself.
- __s 8y agoPlea to authority & ad hominem, agree & disagree, respectively
- betenoire 8y agoYou've listed the names of various fallacies. Logical fallacies. But what logic are you saying is fallacious in the parent comment? The commenter has their own set of biases and hueristics for choosing what to spend their limited time in. Unless they follow it up with, "and for these reasons, these are the correct books to read" then there is no fallacy.
- __s 8y agoMy point is that identity is a bad measure. If you like their identity, that's plea to authority. If you don't, that's ad hominem. So rather than going off of the value of the content, we're going off of whether you agree or not. This is the thinking that gets people stuck in echo chambers. Better to optimize your time by seeking reviews which might hint at whether the content could be interesting for you or not
- jerf 8y agoPlea to authority is a fallacy when it is an inappropriate plea to authority. Asking that someone who writes a history book actually be an authority on history is not a fallacy.
- slededit 8y agoWhen a work is popular and heavily critiqued the authority of the author is no longer necessary. Surely the volume of critical analysis provides you sufficient information that you no longer need such a noisy signal as the author's identity.
- vokep 8y agoArgument from fallacy is a fallacy
- dragonwriter 8y agoFallacies in argumentation may nevertheless be useful rules in managing limited time. That are fallacies because they do not price the conclusion, but that doesn't mean that they are without value as mechanisms for making decisions based on lose associations that do not need to be 100% correct to be valuable.