Afalse equivalenceorfalse equivalencyis aninformal fallacyin which an equivalence is drawn between two subjects based on flawed or false reasoning. This fallacy is categorized as a fallacy of inconsistency.[1]Colloquially, a false equivalence is often called "comparingapples and oranges."
Characteristics
editThis fallacy is committed when one shared trait between two subjects is assumed to showequivalence,especially inorder of magnitude,when equivalence is not necessarily the logical result.[2]False equivalence is a common result when an anecdotal similarity is pointed out as equal, but the claim of equivalence does not bear scrutiny because the similarity is based onoversimplificationor ignorance of additional factors. The pattern of the fallacy is often as such:
IfAis the set containingcandd,andBis the set containingdande,then since they both containd,AandBare equal.
In an even more fallacious version,dis not required to exist in both sets; merely a similarity of two itemsd1in setAandd2in setBis cited to assert equivalence among the sets.[3]
Example:
Ifapples and orangesare both fruits, and there are seeds in both apples and oranges, then since they both contain seeds, apples and oranges are equal.[2]
Examples
edit
The following statements are examples of false equivalence:[3]
- "TheDeepwater Horizonoil spillis no more harmful than when your neighbor drips some oil on the ground when changing his car's oil. "
- The "false equivalence" is the comparison between things differing by many orders of magnitude:[3]Deepwater Horizonspilled 210 million US gal (790 million L) of oil;[4]one's neighbor might spill perhaps 1 US pt (0.47 L).
- "They are bothFelidae,mammalsin the orderCarnivora,[5]therefore there's little difference between having apet catand a petjaguar."[6]
- The "false equivalence" is in an oversimplification[3]of the factors that make an animal a suitable pet.[7]
- "Consumingmarijuanacan lead to consuming and acquiring a psychological dependence onheroinlater in life by acting as agateway drug,so taking marijuana is like taking heroin. "[8]
- The "false equivalence" is not considering the difference in likelihood. Consuming heroin is more likely to lead to future heroin dependence than taking marijuana, even given the assumption that one who begins using marijuana is more likely at some later time to try heroin, than someone who has never used marijuana.[8]
Negative consequence
editFalse equivalence arguments are often used in journalism[9][10]and in politics, where flaws of one politician may be compared to flaws of a wholly different nature of another.[11]
Thomas Patterson of theShorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public PolicyatHarvard Universitywrote about the false equivalency used by the media during the2016 United States presidential election:
False equivalencies are developing on a grand scale as a result of relentlessly negative news. If everything and everyone is portrayed negatively, there's a leveling effect that opens the door to charlatans. The press historically has helped citizens recognize the difference between the earnest politician and the pretender. Today's news coverage blurs the distinction.[12]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^Phillips, Harry; Bostian, Patricia (2014).The Purposeful Argument: A Practical Guide, Brief Edition(Second ed.). Cengage Learning. p. 129.ISBN9781285982847.
- ^abEdward Webber, ed. (August 16, 2013)."False Equivalence".Truly Fallacious.Archived fromthe originalon May 14, 2019.RetrievedFebruary 17,2017.
- ^abcdBennett, Robert "Bo"."False Equivalence".Logically Fallacious.RetrievedNovember 27,2018.
- ^On Scene Coordinator Report on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill(PDF)(Report). September 2011.Archived(PDF)from the original on September 15, 2012.RetrievedAugust 10,2018.
- ^Salles, L. O. (1992)."Felid phylogenetics: extant taxa and skull morphology (Felidae, Aeluroidea)"(PDF).American Museum Novitates(3047).Archived(PDF)from the original on April 18, 2017.RetrievedApril 17,2017.
- ^"Cat or Lion: Differences Between Wild and Domestic Cats".Lone Tree Veterinary Medical Center.February 16, 2017.
- ^"Distinguishing Cougars, Bobcats, and Domestic Cats".Department of Natural Resources.State of Michigan.
- ^abFinocchiaro, Maurice A. (1981)."Fallacies and the Evaluation of Reasoning".American Philosophical Quarterly.18(1): 13–22.ISSN0003-0481.JSTOR20013887.
- ^Krugman, Paul(September 16, 2016)."The Falsity of False Equivalence".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 17,2017.
- ^Phillips, Ari (August 26, 2016)."Welcome to the maddening world of false equivalence journalism (from a climate reporter who knows)".Fusion.Archived fromthe originalon May 9, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 17,2017.
- ^Buchanan, Neil H.(June 22, 2016)."The False Equivalence of Clinton and Trump's Negatives".Newsweek.RetrievedFebruary 17,2017.
- ^Patterson, Thomas E.(December 7, 2016)."News Coverage of the 2016 General Election: How the Press Failed the Voters".Shorenstein Center.
Further reading
edit- Ferrell, Jason (February 15, 2021)."On moral equivalence".SN Social Sciences.1(2): 64.doi:10.1007/s43545-021-00070-4.S2CID234324904.
External links
edit- Wunderlich, Annelise (June 13, 2019)."False Equivalence: Why It's So Dangerous".KQED.
- Sarkis, Stephanie (May 19, 2019)."This Is Not Equal To That: How False Equivalence Clouds Our Judgment".Forbes.