Special pleading

This article is about the informal fallacy. For the legal concept, see Special pleader.

Special pleading is a form of fallacious argument that involves an attempt to cite something as an exception to a generally accepted rule, principle, etc. without justifying the exception.

The lack of criticism may be a simple oversight (e.g., a reference to common sense) or an application of a double standard.

Examples

A difficult case is when a possible criticism is made relatively immune to investigation. This immunity may take the forms of:

• unexplained claims of exemption from principles commonly thought relevant to the subject matter

Example: I'm not relying on faith in small probabilities here. These are slot machines, not roulette wheels. They are different.

• claims to data that are inherently unverifiable, perhaps because too remote or impossible to define clearly

Example: Cocaine use should be legal. Like all drugs, it does have some adverse health effects, but cocaine is different from other drugs. Many have benefited from the effects of cocaine.

In the classic distinction among informal (material), psychological, and formal (logical) fallacies, special pleading most likely falls within the category of psychological fallacy, as it would seem to relate to "lip service", rationalization and diversion (abandonment of discussion). Special pleading also often resembles the "appeal to" logical fallacies.

In medieval philosophy, it was not assumed that wherever a distinction is claimed, a relevant basis for the distinction should exist and be substantiated. Special pleading subverts an assumption of existential import.

Statistical

This variation occurs when the interpretation of the relevant statistic is "massaged" by looking for ways to reclassify or requantify data from one portion of results, but not applying the same scrutiny to other categories.

See also

• Relativist fallacy
• Cherry picking (fallacy)
• One-sided argument
• No true Scotsman
• Moving the goalposts

External links

• Special pleading at the Fallacy Files
• Special pleading at the Nizkor Project