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Hypocrisy vs. The Hypocrisy Fallacy

TnopheliaTnophelia
edited 2011-01-08 19:37:10 in General
In general one of the main rules of society is that being a hypocrite is bad. One of the reasons is because it's snide and unfair. Why do you have the right to do one thing if others can't? Why can you be against something everyone does then you do it yourself? It's one of the many things that can discredit you as a person and generally make you lose respect and notability.

Then there comes the ad hominem fallacy. Where a person is not allowed to comment or do something because they are guilty of doing this themselves. This prevents redeption, and possibly understanding of the situation if the person who has done it before knows about it best. Say people are looking for a rape victim. An ex-rapist tries to offer some tips on what a rapist is most likely to do and their stalking behavior. The others disregard his opinions/suggestions because he has raped somebody before and has no right to talk.

Where is the borderline between the two? Do they both go hand in hand?

Laconic Version: You can't tell someone they can't do something if you've done it yourself. But should you be disallowed to prevent or inform others on what you've done, because you were somebody that did it yourself?

Comments

  • TheMightyAnonymTheMightyAnonym
    edited 2011-01-08 19:33:03
    ~♥YES♥~! I *AM* a ~♥cupcake♥~! ^_^
    Being a hypocrite is a flaw in and of itself, but doesn't devalue what you say. However, if someone is a hypocrite then it is even more important to check into what they are saying.

    (ALSO: I think we need a philosophy section.)
  • GelzoGelzo
    Pony Sleuth
    Just because you do something bad doesn't mean you can't say it's bad to do it.

    It's just that you ought to have the willpower to do what you think is right.
  • KhwarizmiKhwarizmi
    Because you never know what you might see.
    Disregarding somebody's advice because they broke it in the past is kind of dumb because it could mean making the same mistakes they did.

    And this is basically the ad hominem fallacy.
  • Super LazuliSuper Lazuli
    yea i make potions if ya know what i mean
    Disregarding somebody's advice because they broke it in the past is kind
    of dumb because it could mean making the same mistakes they did.

    And this is basically the ad hominem fallacy.

    Reposted for truth.
  • TnopheliaTnophelia
    Updated the ad hominem fallacy.
  • StormtroperStormtroper
    edited 2011-01-08 19:51:03
    More specifically, it's a form of the ad hominem fallacy called "tu quoque" ("no u" "you too" in latin).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_quoque
  • TnopheliaTnophelia
    Oooo...that sounds nice.
  • LouieWLouieW
    edited 2011-01-08 21:19:47
    Loser
    As has been addressed already, I think that the quality of one's advice or argument is determined by how good that advice is or how strong that argument is rather than whether the person saying it is a hypocrite. Still, if one is unable to check how good the person's advice or argument is then I think it is logical to question what a less than reputable source says. I just do not believe that what one says should be disregarded solely because of who one is or what one has done.

    I think that saying that one can never tell someone to not do something that one is guilty of oneself is rather problematic. To me such a statement would disqualify many people from telling others to do good because they themselves are highly imperfect. I think that might just encourage people to not be trusting and question the point of doing good at all. I may just be rambling though.
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