Argumentum Ad Antiquitatem

Appeal to Tradition
• a common logical fallacy that occurs when it is
assumed that something is better or correct
simply because it is older, traditional, or "always
has been done".

• Structure:
• It has been done for a long time.
• (implied) Things that have been done for a long
time are true/good.
• It is true/good.
• Example #1:
• Dave: For five generations, the men in our
family went to Stanford and became doctors,
while the women got married and raised
children. Therefore, it is my duty to become a
doctor.
• Kaitlin: Do you want to become a doctor?
• Dave: It doesn’t matter -- it is our family
tradition. Who am I to break it?
Argumentum in Terrorem

Appeal to Fear
• When fear, not based on evidence or reason,
is being used as the primary motivator to get
others to accept an idea, proposition, or
conclusion.

• P1: X is scary.
P2: (unstated) Scary things are bad.
C1: X is bad.
• Example #1:
• If we don’t bail out the big automakers, the US
economy will collapse. Therefore, we need to
bail out the automakers.
Argumentum Ad Ignorantiam

Argument from Ignorance

• The assumption of a conclusion or fact based
primarily on lack of evidence to the contrary.

• Forms:
• X is true because you cannot prove that X is
false.
• X is false because you cannot prove that X is
true.
• Example #1:
• Although we have proven that the moon is not
made of spare ribs, we have not proven that
its core cannot be filled with them; therefore,
the moon’s core is filled with spare ribs.