Comments on: False Dichotomy http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2006/09/false_dichotomy.html Dispatches from a Small Business Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:39:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: ArtD0dger http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2006/09/false_dichotomy.html/comment-page-1#comment-3803 ArtD0dger Wed, 27 Sep 2006 19:54:05 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2006/09/false_dichotomy.html#comment-3803 <p>Speaking of false dichotomies, this endless obsession with “authoritarianism” by left of center commentators never ceases to amaze me. That largess delivered by government <i>always</i> comes with strings attached whatever the intentions of the benefactor; that centralization and collectivization <i>inherently</i> institute layers of agency and authority over individuals; and that wealth confiscation and redistribution to support centrally planned goals <i>clearly</i> represents coercive authoritarian policy never seems to register with them.</p> <p>All libertarians and most modern conservatives take these points as axiomatic, and have come to regard the left as the obviously more authoritarian political wing. Yet this insinuation springs up over and over, even from smart liberals like Drum. You’d think that in their own minds, they are devising political strategy to run against monarchists or something.</p> Speaking of false dichotomies, this endless obsession with “authoritarianism” by left of center commentators never ceases to amaze me. That largess delivered by government always comes with strings attached whatever the intentions of the benefactor; that centralization and collectivization inherently institute layers of agency and authority over individuals; and that wealth confiscation and redistribution to support centrally planned goals clearly represents coercive authoritarian policy never seems to register with them.

All libertarians and most modern conservatives take these points as axiomatic, and have come to regard the left as the obviously more authoritarian political wing. Yet this insinuation springs up over and over, even from smart liberals like Drum. You’d think that in their own minds, they are devising political strategy to run against monarchists or something.

]]> By: Ed http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2006/09/false_dichotomy.html/comment-page-1#comment-3802 Ed Tue, 26 Sep 2006 18:10:17 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2006/09/false_dichotomy.html#comment-3802 <p>Kudos for putting your finger on one of the most pervasive logical fallacies in modern culture. I have long worried over what I have come to call 'classificatory errors', and most people's refusal or inability to recognize them. It is the familiar apples/oranges (I much prefer your Kleenex/pudding characterization) problem, if a bit more arcane. Sadly, many folks lack the critical thinking skills required to see this sort of flimflam for what it is, and those that perpetrate (and perpetuate) it do so with a good deal of malice aforethought. </p> <p>To tease out only one example, consider the long-raging debate over abortion. It will never satisfactorily be settled because one side sees aborting a human foetus as nothing more than a behavioral choice, while the other side sees it as premeditated murder. There is very little chance the two sides are going to get together until they both realize one side is talking about Kleenex while the other is discussing pudding. </p> <p>My own particular favorite example of this kind of trickster comparison is: "Do you walk to school or take your lunch"?</p> <p>Anyway, nicely done ... I will be back</p> <p>Ed</p> Kudos for putting your finger on one of the most pervasive logical fallacies in modern culture. I have long worried over what I have come to call ‘classificatory errors’, and most people’s refusal or inability to recognize them. It is the familiar apples/oranges (I much prefer your Kleenex/pudding characterization) problem, if a bit more arcane. Sadly, many folks lack the critical thinking skills required to see this sort of flimflam for what it is, and those that perpetrate (and perpetuate) it do so with a good deal of malice aforethought.

To tease out only one example, consider the long-raging debate over abortion. It will never satisfactorily be settled because one side sees aborting a human foetus as nothing more than a behavioral choice, while the other side sees it as premeditated murder. There is very little chance the two sides are going to get together until they both realize one side is talking about Kleenex while the other is discussing pudding.

My own particular favorite example of this kind of trickster comparison is: “Do you walk to school or take your lunch”?

Anyway, nicely done … I will be back

Ed

]]> By: Doug http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2006/09/false_dichotomy.html/comment-page-1#comment-3801 Doug Mon, 25 Sep 2006 17:26:00 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2006/09/false_dichotomy.html#comment-3801 <p>While I agree with your conclusion and think your response to Drum is great, I’m not so sure about how you got there. The questions don’t imply that the choices are opposites but ask which is more important, a classic preference test offering options that often seem unrelated. You can think that both are important and still have to choose only one. It’s a test of priorities where a person with numerous allergies may indeed choose Kleenex while a twelve-year-old with an insatiable sweet tooth might prefer the pudding.</p> <p>The real problem is that we don’t know how these questions were validated. What was the standard they used calibrate this “authoritarian index”? Should all four questions carry the same weight? Why should someone who values both choices highly get the same “credit” as one who does not but prefers the same one?</p> <p>I suspect we do agree that the questions reveal more about the survey’s author than the respondents.</p> While I agree with your conclusion and think your response to Drum is great, I’m not so sure about how you got there. The questions don’t imply that the choices are opposites but ask which is more important, a classic preference test offering options that often seem unrelated. You can think that both are important and still have to choose only one. It’s a test of priorities where a person with numerous allergies may indeed choose Kleenex while a twelve-year-old with an insatiable sweet tooth might prefer the pudding.

The real problem is that we don’t know how these questions were validated. What was the standard they used calibrate this “authoritarian index”? Should all four questions carry the same weight? Why should someone who values both choices highly get the same “credit” as one who does not but prefers the same one?

I suspect we do agree that the questions reveal more about the survey’s author than the respondents.

]]> By: JoshK http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2006/09/false_dichotomy.html/comment-page-1#comment-3800 JoshK Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:37:26 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2006/09/false_dichotomy.html#comment-3800 <p>You make the mistake of trying to apply logic to understanding the ideals of the left. It's not a system based on reason. It is much more akin to a religion. </p> You make the mistake of trying to apply logic to understanding the ideals of the left. It’s not a system based on reason. It is much more akin to a religion.

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