I tried to look up "Appeal to Authority" on several of the many logical fallacy sites out there, and every one I found lists an unusual caveat. They claim that an appeal to authority is a legitimate argument, as long as the authority in question is an "expert" in the relevant field, and there is "consensus" amongst the experts that the matter is "settled".
So what they're saying is that an appeal to authority is not fallacious, as long as you commit a bandwagon fallacy instead.
What a psyop. This isn't logic; it's propaganda.
Quick refresher on the scientific method: Science is never "settled". That's not how science works. For one thing, those "experts" are humans, and humans are fallible. Full stop. There is ALWAYS room for doubt.
If the last four years have taught us anything, it's that "experts" are just as susceptible to jumping on bandwagons as normal people - more, once you factor in the certification boards that take away the livelihoods of the ones who question the "settled" science.
An appeal to authority occurs when someone backs up an argument by saying *who* agrees with it, rather than *why* it should be so. This is a fallacy, in the formal logic sense. This doesn't mean the argument isn't true; just that it isn't proof. There are no exceptions just because you really really want to believe the authority.
Roland Häder🇩🇪
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