Special pleading is an informal fallacy wherein a person claims an exception to a general or universal principle, but the exception is unjustified.
In the classic distinction among material fallacy, cognitive fallacies, and formal fallacy, special pleading most likely falls within the category of cognitive fallacy, because it would seem to relate to "", rationalization, and diversion (abandonment of discussion). Special pleading also often resembles the "appeal to" logical fallacies.[This division of fallacy categories is found in introductory texts such as Fallacy: The Counterfeit of Argument, W. Ward Fearnside, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1959. ]
In medieval philosophy, it was not presumed that wherever a distinction is claimed, a relevant basis for the distinction should exist and be substantiated. Special pleading subverts a presumption of existential import.
Examples
A difficult case is when a possible criticism is made relatively immune to investigation. This immunity may take the forms of:
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Creation of an ad-hoc exception to prevent the rule from backfiring against the claim:
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Example: Everyone has a duty to help the police do their job, no matter who the suspect is. That is why we must support investigations into corruption in the police department. No person is above the law. Of course, if the police come knocking on my door to ask about my neighbors and the robberies in our building, I know nothing. I’m not about to rat on anybody.
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"You aren't like me, so you do not even have a right to think about or hold opinions on my plight."
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Example: Keep your advice to yourself. If you didn't grow up the way I did, then you can't understand.
Statistical
This variation occurs when the interpretation of the relevant statistic is "massaged" by looking for ways to reclassify or requantify data from one portion of results, but not applying the same scrutiny to other categories.
Misuses
Misuses may occur when it is not understood why something is an exception or when an incorrect exception is applied non-fallaciously or in ignorance.
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Misunderstanding; the exception is justified or necessary but the objector does not understand why:
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Example: John is committing special pleading by saying that he only likes his own dog.
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Another common example comes from the conflation of the Problem of the Creator of God with the concept of the Unmoved Mover.
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Incorrect Exception; the fallacy does not occur when the exception proposed is believed to be valid but is in actuality not. In these cases, the valid argument is due to the argument having an implied untrue premise. Special pleading only occurs when the invalid exception is deliberately or carelessly applied:
["special pleading". English Oxford Living Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Argument in which the speaker deliberately ignores aspects that are unfavourable to their point of view.]
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Example: This storm will ruin your lawn but mine. That's because I'm crossing my fingers, which is lucky.
See also
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Cherry picking (fallacy)
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Courtier's reply
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Problem of the creator of God
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Exception that proves the rule
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Hard cases make bad law
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Moving the goalposts
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No true Scotsman
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Relativist fallacy
External links
