7 - THE AD VERECUNDIAM AND THE MISUSE OF EXPERTS

Summary

Introduction

The last two chapters have concentrated on ‘ad’ arguments, appeals to components of our experience that offer to support a variety of claims. One further ‘ad’ argument that deserves fuller study is ad verecundiam, or the Appeal to Authority or Expertise.

The Appeal to Authority is a strategy in argument that few can avoid making. When my doctor tells me that I must make some serious lifestyle changes or else expect undesirable consequences to follow, then my deliberations in deciding whether to make such adjustments involve a direct appeal to her status as an authority. She has knowledge that I do not possess, coupled with many years of experience reviewing the symptoms of people comparable to me. In principle, I could acquire this knowledge and experience directly, but it is simply not practical for me to enter medical school and subsequent practice as a family physician. In the absence of the direct evidence that it is not practical for me to acquire, I rely on the testimony of an expert. Similar situations govern a wide range of my interactions with people or sources that are judged authorities of some description. In the extremely complex world in which we live, no one can be expected to be knowledgeable about everything that affects him and so we must necessarily rely on and trust the say-so of other people. The issue is deciding when that trust is well placed and when it is not.