withallyourmind.net

Michael J. Fox (whose acting I’ve always enjoyed by the way) has been very active in the political campaigns of several democratic office seekers throughout the country. He has participated in press conferences and television commercials urging voters to vote for the democratic candidates on the basis of one issue: embryonic stem cell research. I have just completed a series of blogs on this issue. The focus of this post is to highlight the fallacious nature of Fox’s endeavors. There are two logical fallacies in particular of which one should be aware in viewing his appeals.

The first is the fallacy called ad misericordiam, or the appeal to pity. This fallacy is committed when pity or a related emotion such as sympathy or compassion is appealed to for the sake of getting a conclusion accepted. This is the form of the fallacy:

Person F argues statement p .
F deserves pity because of circumstance y.
Circumstance y is irrelevant to p.
Statement p is true.

I do not intend to cast dispersions upon Fox, nor imply that he is insincere or that he is faking his disease. I fell very badly for Fox and wish him the best. What I am saying is that his suffering due to Parkinson’s disease is irrelevant to the controversy over ESCR. While there is some theoretical potential for stem cell research to treat Parkinson’s disease, there is absolutely no evidence that it will reach this potential. Embryonic stem cells have had no therapeutic success in human so far, while adult stem cells have been used therapeutically in several areas. The real issue is whether or not an embryo is a human being. If not, there should be no restrictions whatsoever on stem cell research. If so, under no circumstances should we sacrifice this innocent human life for the potential benefit of others.

The second fallacy committed is a type of the fallacy called Argumentum ad vericundiam, or the argument from (appeal to) authority. The form of this fallacy is:

A makes claim B;
There is something positive about A,
Therefore claim B is true.

This is the case with almost all celebrity endorsements of one political view or the other. This is actually a subset of the fallacy, argument from authority. It is actually argument from or appeal to celebrity. The fact that Michael J. Fox is a celebrity has no bearing on the actual argument in favor of or against ESCR. The argument must stand without appeals to pity or celebrity.