“Argumentum Ad Verecundiam” Latin for Argument to respect.
I’ve seen this fallacy a bit. This is where a claim is said to be true because a perceived person or group of respect endorses it as true.
Jenny McCarthy says vaccines are bad and since she is a celebrity the statement MUST be true. This couldn’t be more wrong. Many reason have already been stated in my previous blogs so you get the idea.
Here’s another one from 1937 that is still believed today. A Nobel prize winner says Vitamin C slows aging. Well our dear Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi might well have been a very good physiologist but other clinical doctors since have dispelled this myth. Excessive amounts of this vitamin can actually be detrimental.
Pretty much every advertisement you see has this fallacy. “Recommended by 9 our of 10 doctors”. What kind of doctors? Proctologists? Gynecologists? General Practitioners? or just people with the last name of Doctor?
So does this mean you shouldn’t listen to doctors? Not at all. They are very educated people. Just make sure you get the diagnosis from one you trust or get a second opinion. Heck if you can get a team of them to agree then you’re better off. Just make sure they are truly accredited doctors. Not purchased of the net or naturopaths.
