Difference between revisions of "Argument from Common Consent"

From Smiting Shepherds
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 1: Line 1:
 
[[File:Barker.png|center]]
 
[[File:Barker.png|center]]
  
'''The Argument from Common Consent''' admittedly does not claim to prove God’s existence; instead it tries to demonstrate that God ''likely'' exists. It argues that if the vast majority of all people believe in something, than it is likely that something is true, otherwise it would not have been adopted as a best practice. Therefore, since 99% of all humans throughout history believed in some form of God, the divine is likely to exist, and “to be an atheist you have to be a snob. You have to believe that most of the people who have ever lived have guided their lives by an illusion. And you must believe that you and your few fellow atheists are the only ones clever enough to have discovered this gigantic hoax.” [1]
+
'''The Argument from Common Consent''' admittedly does not claim to prove God’s existence; instead it tries to demonstrate that God ''likely'' exists. It argues that if the vast majority of all people believe in something, than it is likely that something is true, otherwise it would not have been adopted as a best practice. Therefore, since 99% of all humans throughout history believed in some form of God, the divine is likely to exist, and “to be an atheist you have to be a snob. You have to believe that most of the people who have ever lived have guided their lives by an illusion. And you must believe that you and your few fellow atheists are the only ones clever enough to have discovered this gigantic hoax.”<ref name="Kreeft"> P. Kreeft, ''Faith and Reason:  The Philosophy of Religion'' (Recorded Books, 2005).</ref>
  
 
However, this is the exact, literal definition of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_populum ''argumentum ad populum''] fallacy, which powers the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRmZnM7DUPI Bandwagon Effect]. If all your friends jumped off a cliff, that doesn’t mean you should.
 
However, this is the exact, literal definition of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_populum ''argumentum ad populum''] fallacy, which powers the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRmZnM7DUPI Bandwagon Effect]. If all your friends jumped off a cliff, that doesn’t mean you should.

Revision as of 22:09, 14 August 2017

Barker.png

The Argument from Common Consent admittedly does not claim to prove God’s existence; instead it tries to demonstrate that God likely exists. It argues that if the vast majority of all people believe in something, than it is likely that something is true, otherwise it would not have been adopted as a best practice. Therefore, since 99% of all humans throughout history believed in some form of God, the divine is likely to exist, and “to be an atheist you have to be a snob. You have to believe that most of the people who have ever lived have guided their lives by an illusion. And you must believe that you and your few fellow atheists are the only ones clever enough to have discovered this gigantic hoax.”[1]

However, this is the exact, literal definition of the argumentum ad populum fallacy, which powers the Bandwagon Effect. If all your friends jumped off a cliff, that doesn’t mean you should.

Point this out when you are confronted with the Argument from Common Consent, and immediately mention the problems caused by [Religious_Pluralism|religious plurality]. If possible, phrase this in a way that mirror’s the form of the clergyman’s argument. For example: “Do you really believe that two billion Christians could all be wrong?” should be countered with “Do you really believe that a billion Muslims could all be wrong? Do you really believe that a billion atheists could all be wrong?” This is especially effective, because a tyranny of the majority requires a majority status, or the perception thereof, in order to operate.

In addition, this is a circular argument, because it states that people should believe in God because people believe in God. Additionally, the associated snobbery claims attached to this argument are an ad hominem; the fact that an atheist may be a snob is independent of the truth or falsehood of any of their claims or statements.

References

  1. P. Kreeft, Faith and Reason: The Philosophy of Religion (Recorded Books, 2005).