Spotlight on Identity Fallacy for Better Thinking and Mental Health
Nick Lechnir, ACB, CPD
Vice President Education TM - Learning and Development Administrator at Optum Serve
The Identity Fallacy is a corrupt postmodern argument from ethos, and a variant on Argumentum ad Hominem in which the validity of one's logic, evidence, experience or arguments depends not on their own strength, but rather on whether the one arguing is a member of a given social class, generation, nationality, religious or ethnic group, color, gender or sexual orientation, profession, occupation or subgroup.
In this fallacy, valid opposing evidence and arguments are brushed aside or "othered" without comment or consideration, as simply not worth arguing about solely because of the lack of proper background or ethos of the person making the argument, or because the one arguing does not self-identify as a member of the "in-group."
Comments associated with violators of the Identity Fallacy include:
Identity fallacies are reinforced by common ritual, language, and discourse. However, these fallacies are occasionally self-interested, driven by the egotistical ambitions of academics, politicians and would-be group leaders anxious to build their own careers by carving out a special identity group constituency to the exclusion of existing broader-based identities and leadership.
Examples:
This may lead to scorn or rejection of potentially useful allies, real or prospective, because they are not of one's own identity. This kind of attitude promotes an exclusivist, sometimes cultish "do for self" philosophy, which in today's world virtually guarantees self-marginalization and ultimate defeat.
A recent application of the Identity Fallacy is the fallacious accusation of "Cultural Appropriation," in which those who are not of the right identity are condemned for "appropriating" cuisine, clothing, language or music of a marginalized group, forgetting the old axiom that "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Accusations of Cultural Appropriation very often stem from competing selfish economic interests.
For example:
"What right do those people have to set up a shop right here on Bueno Vista Drive to take away business from Tequila Tavern? They even dare to play Mexican music in their dining room to sound authentic! That's cultural appropriation!"
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See also:
How have you seen or experienced the Identity Fallacy, and how would you correct or counteract this?
I sincerely appreciate your interest and support. Our mission is to always provide great content in helping you learn more about critical thinking skills and critical speaking skills.
Always keep leaping forward,
NJ
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1yso interesting!