Appeal to hypocrisy (also known as Tu quoque, Latin for, ‘you also’) is an informal logical fallacy that tries to discredit the validity of the opponent’s argument by asserting the opponent’s failure to act consistently in accordance with its conclusion(s).
The Appeal to Hypocrisy fallacy follows the pattern:
- Person A makes claim X.
- Person B asserts that A’s actions or past claims are inconsistent with the truth of claim X.
- Conclusion: Therefore X is false.
An example would be
Peter: ‘Based on the arguments I have presented, it is evident that it is morally wrong to use animals for food or clothing.’
Bill: ‘But you are wearing a leather jacket and you have a roast beef sandwich in your hand! How can you say that using animals for food and clothing is wrong?’
This argument is a fallacy because the moral character or past actions of the opponent are generally…
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