
Game Logically 270,907 fallacies popped
(adj) (noun)
(beta)
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Statement #o137 Discussion
2 comments (1 thead) All Discussions | Below is the statement as it appears with the fallacy marked as correct. You can see the totals of most frequent responses to this statement. And after reading the any discussion going on below, you can select your choice(s) for the correct answer. For now, whoever posts each statement can update corrections. |


Special Pleading
Category: Fallacies of Relevance (Red Herrings) Special Pleading is a fallacy in which a person applies standards, principles, rules, etc. to others while taking herself (or those she has a special interest in) to be exempt, without providing adequate justification for the exemption. This sort of "reasoning" has the following form:
The Principle of Relevant Difference It should be noted that the Principle of Relevant Difference does allow people to be treated differently. For example, if one employee was a slacker and the other was a very productive worker the boss would be justified in giving only the productive worker a raise. This is because the productivity of each is a relevant difference between them. Since it can be reasonable to treat people differently, there will be cases in which some people will be exempt from the usual standards. For example, if it is Bill's turn to cook dinner and Bill is very ill, it would not be a case of Special Pleading if Bill asked to be excused from making dinner (this, of course, assumes that Bill does not accept a standard that requires people to cook dinner regardless of the circumstances). In this case Bill is offering a good reason as to why he should be exempt and, most importantly, it would be a good reason for anyone who was ill and not just Bill. While determining what counts as a legitimate basis for exemption can be a difficult task, it seems clear that claiming you are exempt because you are you does not provide such a legitimate basis. Thus, unless a clear and relevant justification for exemption can be presented, a person cannot claim to be exempt. There are cases which are similar to instances of Special Pleading in which a person is offering at least some reason why he should be exempt but the reason is not good enough to warrant the exemption. This could be called "Failed Pleading." For example, a professor may claim to be exempt from helping the rest of the faculty move books to the new department office because it would be beneath his dignity. However, this is not a particularly good reason and would hardly justify his exemption. If it turns out that the real "reason" a person is claiming exemption is that they simply take themselves to be exempt, then they would be committing Special Pleading. Such cases will be fairly common. After all, it is fairly rare for adults to simply claim they are exempt without at least some pretense of justifying the exemption. ![]() |
900 Total Answer Attempts 53%
481 Correctly Popped Fallacies
419 Incorrectly Un/Popped
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Example from LaBossiere's Forty Two Fallacies


Most Common Responses39 - Appeal to Pity 26 - Ignoring a Common Cause 21 - Middle Ground 18 - Appeal to Emotion 18 - Red Herring 17 - Fallacy of Division 16 - Appeal to Common Practice 16 - Relativist Fallacy 16 - Appeal to Popularity 15 - Circumstantial Ad Hominem 14 - Misleading Vividness 12 - Appeal to Authority 12 - Confusing Cause and Effect 12 - Fallacy of Composition 12 - Peer Pressure 11 - Ad Hominem Tu Quoque 11 - Biased Generalization 10 - False Dilemma 10 - Begging the Question 10 - Appeal to Spite 10 - Hasty Generalization 9 - Personal Attack 8 - Poisoning the Well 8 - Genetic Fallacy 8 - Appeal to Ridicule 7 - Ad Hominem 7 - Appeal to the Consequences of a Belief 7 - Appeal to Novelty 6 - Burden of Proof 6 - Appeal to Belief 5 - Guilt by Association 5 - Appeal to Tradition 4 - Gambler's Fallacy 4 - Appeal to Flattery 3 - Slippery Slope 3 - Post Hoc 3 - Appeal to Fear |
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Common Cause
The reasons that the man used to justify not cleaning up the mess are the same for the woman; and by acting like he was the only one who worked all day he was ignoring a common cause.
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