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The Fallacy of Misplaced Presumption

The Fallacy of Misplaced Presumption One takes one’s word that p when a source vouches for p and one accepts the word of that source. If the source is reliable in this case, p is acceptable. The reliability of the source is a measure of its plausibility. If a source has the relevant competence, credibility, authority, that word is acceptable. Likewise, the word may be acceptable if accompanied by a cogent argument, but presumption may be misplaced. One may recognize a presumption for a statement when such recognition is not justified, the positive version of the fallacy. One may refuse to recognize a presumption for a statement when there really is a presumption for the statement, the negative version of the fallacy. The essay proceeds to explore various dimensions of when it is justified to take a source’s word for a claim, and when it is justified to reject a claim from a source. The discussion ranges over considerations of sexism and race, cultural differences, and the relationship of presumptions to fallacies. Also considered is the role of trust in taking someone’s word and the factors involved in trusting someone. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Argumentation Springer Journals

The Fallacy of Misplaced Presumption

Freeman, James B.
Argumentation , Volume 37 (2) – Jun 1, 2023
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References (13)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
ISSN
0920-427X
eISSN
1572-8374
DOI
10.1007/s10503-023-09611-y
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

One takes one’s word that p when a source vouches for p and one accepts the word of that source. If the source is reliable in this case, p is acceptable. The reliability of the source is a measure of its plausibility. If a source has the relevant competence, credibility, authority, that word is acceptable. Likewise, the word may be acceptable if accompanied by a cogent argument, but presumption may be misplaced. One may recognize a presumption for a statement when such recognition is not justified, the positive version of the fallacy. One may refuse to recognize a presumption for a statement when there really is a presumption for the statement, the negative version of the fallacy. The essay proceeds to explore various dimensions of when it is justified to take a source’s word for a claim, and when it is justified to reject a claim from a source. The discussion ranges over considerations of sexism and race, cultural differences, and the relationship of presumptions to fallacies. Also considered is the role of trust in taking someone’s word and the factors involved in trusting someone.

Journal

Argumentation – Springer Journals

Published: Jun 1, 2023

Keywords: Presumptions; Illegitimate reasons for discounting a source; Legitimate reasons for denying presumption; Fallacies; Deceptive speech; "Alternative facts"; Trust; Legitimate reasons for distrust; Louise Cummings; Catarina Dutilh Novaes; Carolyn McLeod; Nicholas Rescher

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