Whataboutisms: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The rhetorical function of whataboutism is to redirect attention from the specific case at hand. Although commonly used as a rhetorical move, whataboutisms can appear in arguments. These tend to be weak arguments and are often instances of the tu quoque fallacy or other fallacies of relevance. In...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Windsor
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Informal Logic |
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| Online Access: | https://informallogic.ca/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/7304 |
| _version_ | 1797855866495434752 |
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| author | Tracy Bowell |
| author_facet | Tracy Bowell |
| author_sort | Tracy Bowell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The rhetorical function of whataboutism is to redirect attention from the specific case at hand. Although commonly used as a rhetorical move, whataboutisms can appear in arguments. These tend to be weak arguments and are often instances of the tu quoque fallacy or other fallacies of relevance. In what follows, I show that arguments involving a whataboutist move can take a wide variety of forms, and in some cases, they can occur in good arguments. I end by considering how whataboutist arguing in social justice contexts can be harmful to arguers and to the audiences for their arguments.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:30:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2a3a87c025cb4a6ab0a9740dc7439915 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0824-2577 2293-734X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:30:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | University of Windsor |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Informal Logic |
| spelling | doaj.art-2a3a87c025cb4a6ab0a9740dc74399152023-03-30T17:00:04ZengUniversity of WindsorInformal Logic0824-25772293-734X2023-03-0143110.22329/il.v43i1.7304Whataboutisms: The Good, the Bad and the UglyTracy Bowell The rhetorical function of whataboutism is to redirect attention from the specific case at hand. Although commonly used as a rhetorical move, whataboutisms can appear in arguments. These tend to be weak arguments and are often instances of the tu quoque fallacy or other fallacies of relevance. In what follows, I show that arguments involving a whataboutist move can take a wide variety of forms, and in some cases, they can occur in good arguments. I end by considering how whataboutist arguing in social justice contexts can be harmful to arguers and to the audiences for their arguments. https://informallogic.ca/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/7304fallacy of relative privation, false dilemma, false equivalence, implicit bias, red herring fallacy, social justice, tu quoque fallacy, whataboutism |
| spellingShingle | Tracy Bowell Whataboutisms: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Informal Logic fallacy of relative privation, false dilemma, false equivalence, implicit bias, red herring fallacy, social justice, tu quoque fallacy, whataboutism |
| title | Whataboutisms: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly |
| title_full | Whataboutisms: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly |
| title_fullStr | Whataboutisms: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly |
| title_full_unstemmed | Whataboutisms: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly |
| title_short | Whataboutisms: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly |
| title_sort | whataboutisms the good the bad and the ugly |
| topic | fallacy of relative privation, false dilemma, false equivalence, implicit bias, red herring fallacy, social justice, tu quoque fallacy, whataboutism |
| url | https://informallogic.ca/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/7304 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tracybowell whataboutismsthegoodthebadandtheugly |