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Transcendental arguments being used to argue against ethical positions

MyrmidonMyrmidon
edited 2011-04-12 18:17:53 in General
Rather than epistemological/ontological ones.

For instance:
A: Words do not exist B: You could not make that argument unless you could speak, therefore your argument is invalid.

works, but:

A:Slaves should not exist. B: You could not make that argument unless slavery existed, therefore your argument is invalid.

does not.

See the difference?

Comments

  • NyktosNyktos
    a little muffled
    That (the second one) is a pretty a terrible argument, but I can't say I've ever seen it.
  • KhwarizmiKhwarizmi
    Because you never know what you might see.
    I'm sure I've seen something similar, but the closest that springs to mind is "good is defined in relation to evil, therefore without evil there could be no good", which isn't the same argument.
  • MyrmidonMyrmidon
    Another misuse:

    A:The Cottingley fairy incident was a hoax, therefore we have no reason to believe fairies exist. B:You could not have an idea of fake fairies unless there were real fairies, therefore your argument is invalid.
  • KhwarizmiKhwarizmi
    Because you never know what you might see.
    Yes, it seems to deny the capability of the human imagination to conceive of concepts such as slavery or fairies without actually witnessing them.
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