Wednesday, April 16, 2008

 

Why won't anyone say they are Jewish?

Click on each of the two images below for a larger, clearer image.

See also: "They are Jewish"

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Comments:
Question: So what if they're Jewish?
 
The article in question commits the ad hominem fallacy. The writer thinks we need to know that certain influential persons are Jewish. We do not. Rather we need to debate U.S. foreign policy on the merits of the issues. In the exchange
A; “we should support Israel”
B: “you’re Jewish”
-- B, in addition to displaying an ugly mind, is failing to offer an argument, perhaps because that might require effort.
 
The author, Kalle Lasn, does not commit the ad hominem fallacy. According to the Fallacy Files: "A debater commits the Ad Hominem Fallacy when he introduces irrelevant personal premises about his opponent." The operative word here would be "irrelevant" i.e. is the Jewish background of the neo-Cons irrelevant to their support for Israel? Having read the work of several neo-Cons I think you'd be hard-pressed to find very many who would deny that their Jewishness and their support for Israel are related. Lasn does not take your B position. You seem to be guilty of the Straw Man fallacy: "A straw man argument occurs in the context of a debate―formal or informal―when one side attacks a position―the "straw man"―not held by the other side ..."
 
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