Almarg wrote,
"While there are those who would consider an Appeal to Authority to be a logical fallacy, as I see it such an appeal is not at all illogical. Rather, it is simply less than conclusive, to SOME degree. The degree to which it is less than conclusive, and the persuasiveness of the appeal, comes down to a matter of judgment, taking into account the credibility and relevant background of the particular authority, the persuasiveness of conflicting evidence that may be available, the nature of the particular subject, and perhaps other factors. And as always, the judgments of different individuals will frequently differ."
OK, let’s look at this type of argument more closely, shall we?
APPEAL TO AUTHORITY
Argument from authority, also ad verecundiam and appeal to authority, is a common form of argument which leads to a logical fallacy.[1]
In informal reasoning, the appeal to authority is a form of argument attempting to establish a statistical syllogism.[2] The appeal to authority relies on an argument of the form:[3]
A is an authority on a particular topic
A says something about that topic
A is probably correct
Fallacious examples of using the appeal include any appeal to authority used in the context of logical reasoning, and appealing to the position of an authority or authorities to dismiss evidence,[4][5][6][7] as authorities can come to the wrong judgments through error, bias, dishonesty, or falling prey to groupthink. Thus, the appeal to authority is not a generally reliable argument for establishing facts.[8]
Forms
General
The argument from authority can take several forms. As a syllogism, the argument has the following basic structure:[5][9]
A says P about subject matter S.
A should be trusted about subject matter S.
Therefore, P is correct.
The second premise is not accepted as valid, as it amounts to an unfounded assertion that leads to circular reasoning able to define person or group A into inerrancy on any subject matter.[5][10]
Ergo, the claim that some legendary designs don’t believe in audiophile cables proves that there are no audible differences among cables is the VERY DEFINITION of an Appeal to Authority. Frustrating, ain’t it?It looks convincing only on the surface. But it fails to prove or even provide evidence of anythung. Any more than the argument that some blind test somewhere, who knows where, or the very threat of controlled blind tests, proves that there are no differences among cables. Hel-loo! For one thing some folks have axes to grind. So their opinions are unreliable. Besides, as I said previously, not all legendary designers think alike. For example John Curl DOES believe in audiophile cables. Ditto Lloyd Walker of Walker Audio, Lamm, von Schweikert. there’s a bunch. Trust me.
Cheers,
geoff kait
machina dynamica
advanced audio concepts