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The exception that proves the rule
A 2016 article, edited for an academia.edu entry on August 13, 2022.
This is part of the Pirie text review.
PIRIE, MADSEN (2006)(2015) How To Win Every Argument, Bloomsbury, London.
Cited
'Exceptions of course, disprove rules. Despite this, many people confronted by a counter example to their claim will dismiss it as 'the exception that proves the rule'. This fallacy consists in the dismissal of a valid objection to the argument.' (96)
Pirie reasons:
'Even in the specialized case, the exception disproves the universal rule. The trouble with sweeping statements is that it really does take only one exception to negate them. (97). The exception that proves the rule fallacy for Pirie is for those with intellectual and philosophical neat and tidy categories, that do not want exceptions that disprove the universality of their views, disturbing their worldview. This would be a fallacy used at times by those that are not interested in working through theological and philosophical tension within their worldview.
Jesus Christ stated in John 14: 6, the theological claim of the exclusivity of Jesus Christ for any human being to know the Father, to know God. This is an exclusive claim with no exceptions, as with central biblical, gospel, doctrines. But this does not mean that all Christian doctrine therefore has no exceptions. This would have to be examined contextually and objectively. For example, do all speak in tongues? (1 Corinthians 12). Rhetorically no. Yet, tongues is such a controversial topic, the extremes ranging from every Christian should speak in tongues via the Holy Spirit, to no one should speak in tongues as the New Testament, apostolic era is over.
Pirie example:
'Medical advances are made by painstaking research, not by chance. I know there was penicillin, but everyone knows that was a chance in a million.' (97).
Pirie, claims therefore the rule is not universal in regard to medical research. (97).
There could be other medical and scientific breakthroughs, made more so through trial and error than by directed painstaking research, although most of the time, painstaking research is required for significant findings.
My example:
Only countries with a large population and large base of players can win the FIFA World Cup; Uruguay winning the championship twice was many decades ago and was an exception to the rule.
Admittedly, this type of reasoning can be very easy to fall into.
I would suggest when required, replacing universal claims with general claims, with exceptions, in order to avoid fallacious reasoning such as Pirie names: 'The exception that proves the rule.'
Cited
'Exceptions of course, disprove rules. Despite this, many people confronted by a counter example to their claim will dismiss it as 'the exception that proves the rule'. This fallacy consists in the dismissal of a valid objection to the argument.' (96)
Pirie reasons:
'Even in the specialized case, the exception disproves the universal rule. The trouble with sweeping statements is that it really does take only one exception to negate them. (97). The exception that proves the rule fallacy for Pirie is for those with intellectual and philosophical neat and tidy categories, that do not want exceptions that disprove the universality of their views, disturbing their worldview. This would be a fallacy used at times by those that are not interested in working through theological and philosophical tension within their worldview.
Jesus Christ stated in John 14: 6, the theological claim of the exclusivity of Jesus Christ for any human being to know the Father, to know God. This is an exclusive claim with no exceptions, as with central biblical, gospel, doctrines. But this does not mean that all Christian doctrine therefore has no exceptions. This would have to be examined contextually and objectively. For example, do all speak in tongues? (1 Corinthians 12). Rhetorically no. Yet, tongues is such a controversial topic, the extremes ranging from every Christian should speak in tongues via the Holy Spirit, to no one should speak in tongues as the New Testament, apostolic era is over.
Pirie example:
'Medical advances are made by painstaking research, not by chance. I know there was penicillin, but everyone knows that was a chance in a million.' (97).
Pirie, claims therefore the rule is not universal in regard to medical research. (97).
There could be other medical and scientific breakthroughs, made more so through trial and error than by directed painstaking research, although most of the time, painstaking research is required for significant findings.
My example:
Only countries with a large population and large base of players can win the FIFA World Cup; Uruguay winning the championship twice was many decades ago and was an exception to the rule.
Admittedly, this type of reasoning can be very easy to fall into.
I would suggest when required, replacing universal claims with general claims, with exceptions, in order to avoid fallacious reasoning such as Pirie names: 'The exception that proves the rule.'
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To answer the graphic. There is not an exception to every rule.
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| Memegenerator.net |
Source
MCGRAW-HILL DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN IDIOMS AND PHRASAL VERBS (2002) by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
'Something that does not follow a rule shows that the rule exists. (Often used facetiously, to justify some rule you have proposed but which someone else has listed exceptions. From a Latin phrase meaning that an exception tests a rule.) Ellen: Men are always rude. Jane: But Alan's always polite. And Larry and Ted are polite, too. Ellen: They're just the exceptions that prove the rule. Bill: All the shows on TV are aimed at people with low intelligence. Alan: What about that news program you like to watch? Bill: The exception proves the rule.'
In these cases, there are no real, absolute, rules. Again, I would suggest when required, replacing universal claims with general claims, with exceptions, in order to avoid fallacious reasoning such as Pirie names: 'The exception that proves the rule.'
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BAUER, WALTER (1979) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Translated by Eric H. Wahlstrom, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press.
BLACKBURN, SIMON (1996) Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
CONWAY DAVID A. AND RONALD MUNSON (1997) The Elements of Reasoning, Wadsworth Publishing Company, New York.
COURSON, JON (2005) Application Commentary, Thomas Nelson, Nashville.
ELLIS, DAVID J. (1986) 'John' in F.F. Bruce (gen.ed.), The International Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, Marshall Pickering/ Zondervan.
ELWELL, WALTER AND YARBROUGH, ROBERT W., Third Edition (2013) Encountering The New Testament, Grand Rapids, Baker Academic.
DUNNETT, WALTER M. (2001) Exploring The New Testament, Wheaton, Crossway Books.
FEE, GORDON D. (1987) The First Epistle To The Corinthians, Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
GUNDRY, ROBERT (1981) A Survey of the New Testament, Grand Rapids, Zondervan.
LANGER, SUSANNE K (1953)(1967) An Introduction to Symbolic Logic, Dover Publications, New York. (Philosophy).
MARSH, PAUL, W. (1986) ‘1 Corinthians’, in F.F. Bruce, (ed.), The International Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, Marshall Pickering/Zondervan.
MCGRAW-HILL DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN IDIOMS AND PHRASAL VERBS (2002) by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/the+exception+proves+the+rule
MOLTMANN, JÜRGEN (1993) The Crucified God, Minneapolis, Fortress Press.
MOLTMANN, JÜRGEN (1999) ‘Perseverance’, in Alan Richardson and John Bowden (eds.), New Dictionary of Christian Theology, Kent, SCM Press Ltd.
ORR, R.W. (1986) 'The Letters of John' in The International Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, Zondervan.
PIRIE, MADSEN (2006)(2015) How To Win Every Argument, Bloomsbury, London.
STRONG, J. (1890)(1986) Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Burlington, Welch Publishing Company.
