Tu quoque fallacy

The Tu quoque fallacy (pronounced “too-kwo-kwee”), is a type of ad hominem fallacy that occurs when it is assumed that an argument is wrong because the person making the claim has previously spoken or acted in a way that is inconsistent with it (ie hypocrisy). The fallacy attacks the perceived hypocrisy of the person making the argument rather than the actual merits of the argument. Tu quoque is Latin for ‘you too’ and is also called the appeal to hypocrisy logical fallacy. The fallacy is used to avoid to engaging with the criticism of the argument by turning it back on the accuser: a criticism is answered with a criticism.

Expressed formally:
Person A makes a claim X.
Person B then asserts that A’s actions or past claims are not consistent with the truth of claim X.
Therefore X is false.

Examples:

  • A: “smoking is a well known risk factor for cancer, so you should not smoke”; B: “but you smoke”
  • a physiotherapist making a criticism of chiropractic might be defended by criticizing physiotherapy. The criticisms of physiotherapy may or may not be valid, but has nothing to do with the original criticism of chiropractic and could be considered a tu quoque fallacy
  • “My cousin smoked during pregnancy and had no problems, therefore I will keep smoking”; despite the unequivocal evidence of the detrimental effects of smoking.
  • X may have a belief about something else that Y disagrees with, so Y uses that when they are arguing about something unrelated.

Related Topics:
Ad hominem logical fallacy
‘Ad Hominem’ Print
‘Personal Attack ≠ Argument’ T-shirt
The Shill Gambit

Pick Your Logical Fallacy:

Ad hominemBandwagon fallacyCherry PickingFalse AnalogyGalileo Gambit
Appeal to Authority FallacyBurden of Proof FallacyConfirmation BiasFalse BalanceNatural Fallacy
Appeal to ignoranceFalse EquivalenceSlippery Slope FallacyFalse Dilemma or DichotomyNon sequitur
Appeal to Novelty FallacySpecial pleading logical fallacyStraw ManTautologyPost hoc ergo propter hoc
Appeal to Tradition FallacyThe Moving GoalpostWishful Thinking FallacyShill GambitAmbiguity Fallacy
Post Hoc FallacyShoehorningMotivated reasoningCausal IllusionsCognitive Biases
It's Just a TheoryTu quoque fallacy‘It worked for me’ FallacyArgument by AnalogySunk Cost

logical fallacies
Critical Thinking For DummiesAn Illustrated Book of Bad ArgumentsThe Critical Thinker's DictionaryLogically FallaciousNonsense Red Herrings Straw Men and Sacred Cows
Critical Thinking Skills For DummiesAn Illustrated Book of Bad ArgumentsThe Critical Thinker's Dictionary: Biases, Fallacies, and Illusions and What You Can Do About ThemLogically Fallacious: The Ultimate Collection of Over 300 Logical FallaciesNonsense: Red Herrings, Straw Men and Sacred Cows: How We Abuse Logic in Our Everyday Language

 
Comments are closed.