Jan Albert van Laar
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How to assess arguments from popularity? According to staunch critics, they provide no real justification whatsoever. According to enthusiasts, they are in proper circumstances most convincing. First, I characterize arguments from popularity, and contend that many argumentative appeals to popular policy should not be qualified as arguments from popularity. Second, I argue that arguments from popularity can provide real support, but that normally they are only a bit convincing. Third, I show that arguments from popularity are likely to be fallacious, and that their fallaciousness has widely diverging causes. I will stress that they are far too persuasive when exerting pressure on the addressee: deferring to the opinions of others can be wise, but any touch of docility runs contrary to the spirit of argumentation.
Jan Albert van Laar, University of Groningen (the Netherlands)