5 ms·
Can somebody good with their logical fallacies let me know if this falls under "Fallacy of relative privation"? This definition [1] even uses this very argumen
by flycaliguy 12y ago
Can somebody good with their logical fallacies let me know if this falls under "Fallacy of relative privation"?
This definition [1] even uses this very argument as an example:
"The counter to the relative privation argument when applied, for example, to compare America with other more tyrannous countries is to note that the proper comparison to make should not be between America and other tyrannies but between America and the ideal of freedom."
I find it a scary way to look at the world and to me it always comes off as less an honest argument and more like somebody who understands fallacy using it to persuade the reader for their own benefit.
Like the sort of thing they'll tell you as they are locking up your cage. "Hey, you're lucky it's dry unlike the cages the bad guys use!" the voice under the helmet said.
[1] http://www.hevanet.com/kort/KING6.HTM http://www.hevanet.com/kort/KING6.HTM
- superuser2 12y agoThis is specifically in response to the question: > Can we please stop acting like the USA is somehow a "good guy" anymore? I am arguing the specific assertion that surveillance makes America morally equivalent to or less than the countries we oppose. That does not seem to be true. Apologies if that's not what parent meant. Of course this doesn't make America "good" or even okay, but it is entirely possible to have severe problems while still being a "good guy" relative to the likes of Iran.
- flycaliguy 12y agoI see, I often make that mistake actually of ignoring the context of a response relative to the parent, perhaps a fallacy itself! I just get spooked by those comparisons. I think I agree with you in the end that ultimately we the relative good guys and it's important to keep that in mind. In Fact it's our role as the relative good guys that makes it so damn important to make sure we exercise our rights to free speech and political freedom to make sure we stay the good guys.
- fit2rule 12y agoIts not just surveillance. Its also the mass murder of millions of people in the middle east as a result of American-led aggression. Just because its done with death robots from the sky doesn't make it morally justifiable.
- sroerick 12y agoGreat, now I'm writing a tune called Death Robots From the Sky, to the tune of Ghost Riders In the Sky.
- rosser 12y agoYes, it's exactly the fallacy of relative privation.
- snowwrestler 12y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_fallacy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_fallacy