The genetic fallacy (also known as the fallacy of origins or fallacy of virtue)
is a
fallacy of irrelevance in which arguments or information are dismissed or validated based solely on their source of origin rather than their content. In other words, a claim is ignored or given credibility based on its source rather than the claim itself.
The fallacy therefore fails to assess the claim on its merit. The first criterion of a good argument is that the premises must have bearing on the truth or falsity of the claim in question. Genetic accounts of an issue may be true, and they may help illuminate the reasons why the issue has assumed its present form, but they are not conclusive in determining its merits.
In ''
The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'' (1995) it is asserted that the term originated in
Morris Raphael Cohen and
Ernest Nagel's book ''Logic and Scientific Method'' (1934). However, in a book review published in ''The Nation'' in 1926,
Mortimer J. Adler complained that ''The Story of Philosophy'' by
Will Durant was guilty throughout of "the fallacy of genetic interpretation." Adler characterized the genetic fallacy generally as "the substitution of psychology for logic."
[Mortimer J. Adler, ''Philosopher at Large: An Intellectual Autobiography'' (New York: Macmillan, 1976), pp. 86–87.]
Examples
From ''
Attacking Faulty Reasoning'' by T. Edward Damer, Third Edition p. 36:
There are numerous motives explaining why people choose to wear wedding rings, but it would be a fallacy to presume those who continue the tradition are promoting sexism.
Another example would be from ''How to Win Every Argument: The Use and Abuse of Logic'' (2006) by Madsen Pirie, p. 82:
As the author points out, private developers may well have legitimate and knowledgeable opinions on such a matter.
See also
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Appeal to noveltyThe argument that a newer idea is superior
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Chronological snobberyThe argument that an older idea is inferior
* The argument that an older idea is superior
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Etymological fallacyA fallacy of assuming that the historical meaning of the word is the base of its true meaning
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Not invented here
Not invented here (NIH) is the tendency to avoid using or buying products, research, standards, or knowledge from external origins. It is usually adopted by social, corporate, or institutional cultures. Research illustrates a strong bias against ...
"A dismissal of "foreign" ideas because they did not originate from the speaker's country, social group, or organization
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Notes
External links
Forms of the genetic fallacy
{{Fallacies
Relevance fallacies