Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy [#FallacyFridays]
Welcome to #FallacyFridays, the day we learn about which types of arguments that we should avoid making. Today’s fallacy is one that is pretty common: the appeal to ignorance fallacy. Read on to learn about it so you can test your knowledge with the quiz at the end. 🤓
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Example #1 of the Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy
Let’s say that you have this inexplicable obsession with the way the moon looks. Yes, the one that orbits our planet Earth. The giant rock we call home. Early on in your obsession, you have concluded that the moon is made up of cheese.
For some reason, you have the guts to say this. Out loud. In public. Where people can hear you. In fact, something possessed you to make this a conversation starter with the attractive customer at the bar downtown.
And, unsurprisingly, the conversation was over before it could even start.
But that doesn’t phase you. Not one bit. In fact, the fact that the customer left before they could provide evidence that the moon wasn’t made of cheese was all the “proof” you need; the fact that you didn’t receive evidence to the contrary was your reason for still believing that your “moon is cheese” claim is true. And that’s precisely what makes your thought process a case of the appeal to ignorance fallacy.
The appeal to ignorance (or argument from ignorance) fallacy happens when we say that something is true because it hasn’t been proven to be wrong. It also happens when we claim that something is false because it hasn’t been proven to be true.
The fallacy (like most fallacies) is easier to identify when we personally find a claim absurd. But it gets more difficult to identify the more personal stock we place in a particular opinion or way of thinking.
Let’s look at another example.
Example #2
Let’s say Linda has been best friends with Katia for 12 years. They are now in high school and they have decided that they will go to prom together as a celebration of their friendship.
But Katia is torn. She is convinced that the prom will be waste of money. Linda then asks, “How do you know though?”
Defeated, Katia admits, “Honestly, I have no idea but I just don’t want to be cheated out of my money I worked hard for last summer.”
Linda replies, “See? You don’t even know if it’s worth it. All the more reason for us to go to prom.”
Linda was pretty much saying to Katia, “Going to prom is the right move because you don’t even know whether or not it’s worth it.” Another case of the appeal to ignorance fallacy.
It is better to say "I don't know" and leave it at that than use your ignorance to confidently claim that something is true or false. Click To TweetBut it can be difficult to abandon our use of the fallacy when our deeply held beliefs are on the line.
Appeal to ignorance and bad religious arguments: the God of the gaps.
Before I get into it, a quick confession: these days, I find myself spending more time watching debates on social media than participating in them. I find that more fun usually.
And even in recent months, the appeal to ignorance fallacy has not failed to rear its unruly head in often very passionate arguments on cyberspace. Namely around religion.
This is how it often goes: an atheist and a (often fundamentalist) Christian engage in internet judo. At some point, the Christian asks the atheist questions that the Christian assumes to be mysteries of the universe, questions that science currently doesn’t have answers to. (And in some cases, science does have an explanation, but the Christian just doesn’t know about it). It (unsurprisingly) gets tense. They throws snide remarks at each other with a dash of loaded insults for good measure. And the Christian says something like, “Okay, Mr. Atheist. Science cannot explain how babies are formed in the mother’s womb. It can only be God.”
(I kid you not. This was an actual claim I saw that someone typed out. 😐)
Aside from seeming clueless about human embryonic and fetal development, I found it fascinating how this particular Christian saw God’s being and science as opposites, something that tends to not be the case with Christians who happen to be scientists. In their view, God’s omnipotent hand dictates how science comes to be. One example of this is the notable scientist, Dr. Francis Collins and his adoption of theistic evolution. (In other words, “evolution is real and God made it happen.”)
So in the case of the Christian that I mentioned earlier, they claimed that since science hasn’t explained fetal development, it is true that God did it. And as I mentioned earlier, that way of thinking puts science and God as enemies. This Christian, without saying it explicitly, is admitting that the more we know how things work, the less God is behind the happenings of our universe. Like astrophysicist, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson aptly mentions, “If that’s how you want to invoke your evidence for God, then God is an ever-receding pocket of scientific ignorance that’s getting smaller and smaller and smaller as time moves on.”
In other words, God becomes a placeholder for our lack of knowledge. We put Him in the “gaps” of our knowledge until we fill it with a future scientific explanation. This is a form of the appeal to ignorance fallacy called the “God of the Gaps.”
The "God of the Gaps" fallacy is a flimsy foundation to base one's religious belief. Click To TweetThe reverse is also the case. If someone claims a lack of evidence for God, that lack of evidence does not automatically or definitely mean that there is no Supreme Being. The skeptic would do better to ask their ideological opponent their parameters for their God and argue given that information.
Quiz Time!
Given what you know, which of the following answer choices is the appeal to ignorance fallacy?
A. Hariah: Do you know the answer to question 4 on our homework?
Tony: No, I don’t. Katie probably does though.
B. I didn’t study for the exam and rarely attend class, so I probably won’t do well on the exam.
C. My Dad usually calls me only if he is having a problem and needs something from me. Since I haven’t heard from him all week, he’s likely doing okay.
D. If there were other forms of life in the universe outside of Earth, we would know by now. So our planet is the only one that has life.
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