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To: general_re
Ok, I may not be reading what you said correctly but you'd re-write the article because you think it's trying to set up an argument for evolution instead of allowing people to make their own decision?

May be totally off, but help me out here :-D

69 posted on 03/13/2002 10:00:42 AM PST by JediGirl
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To: JediGirl
Ok, I may not be reading what you said correctly but you'd re-write the article because you think it's trying to set up an argument for evolution instead of allowing people to make their own decision?

I think what I'm getting at is that it tries to cast arguments by non-experts as being fallacious, in and of themselves. It comes perilously close to saying that, unless you yourself are a bona-fide expert, it is inappropriate to pass along the opinions of others that you find convincing. The problem is, that should apply equally well to arguments for evolution, as well. When you look at it in light of the stated goal of the article - to refute creationism - it strikes me as an attempt to separate one set of arguments out for special treatment.

Consider me, after all. I am not a molecular biologist, nor am I a biochemist, although I took several semesters worth of courses on same in college. I am hardly an expert in this field, so I must defer to those who are experts. But following the logic of this article, it is inappropriate for me to cite someone else as an authority unless I have a 100% complete, soup-to-nuts understanding of the subject myself. But that's silly - that renders me unqualified to discuss a whole load of things, by that standard.

Like I said, this article goes too far. Simply presenting someone else's opinion is not, in and of itself, a fallacy. It is only when we try to make an authority in one field into an expert in some other field that we are guilty of a fallacy. As an example, it is perfectly appropriate for me to cite Richard Dawkins as an expert in evolutionary theory, and to refer to his thoughts and opinions on same. However, it is a fallacious argument to conclude that, because he is an expert in one field, his expertise extends to other subjects - his arguments on the nature and non-existence of God, for example. In that respect, his opinions are no more or less valid than anyone else's and to cite him as an authority in such an argument would be fallacious. Similarly, we may conclude that Jerry Falwell is an expert in Christian theology. But that expertise does not, by itself, give his opinions on the nature and mechanics of evolution any special insight, and therefore it would be inappropriate to give his opinion undue weight when discussing evolution.

82 posted on 03/13/2002 10:21:12 AM PST by general_re
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