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PIRIE, MADSEN (2006)(2015) How To Win Every Argument, Bloomsbury, London.
Irrelevant Humour
'The fallacy of irrelevant humour is committed when jocular material irrelevant to the subject under review is introduced in order to divert attention away from the argument.' (234).
Quote:
'My opponent's position reminds me of a story...' (234).
The author notes that this will have nothing to do with the argument. (234).
Humour is used to direct an audience away from the actual argument being discussed. (234).
For example, the state is placing a person on trial for taking a religious stance, perceived against the best interests of the government and its citizens.
The prosecutor spends significant time with humour, at the expense of the defendant, mocking the religious practices of the person on trial. This is an attempt to persuade the crowd to view the person on trial as a religious weirdo, an extremist, with a worldview not in agreement with the state and its citizens. A religion, supposedly, not in agreement with the law of the land.
Therefore, the defendant on trial, through humour, is portrayed as useless and disposable, as is the religion and its followers. This is separate and apart from the evidence the state presents in the court case.
Pirie explains that heckling is an effective form of this fallacy. (235). If a crowd supports the humour and distracting intent of the heckler this largely eliminates a more serious intellectual level of argument. In my example, the prosecutor could emotionally move the crowd and be further aided by a heckler. A heckler could even potentially be a 'plant' of the state.
This approach avoids a serious intellectual, theological and philosophical discussion in regard to the validity of the defendant's religious worldview and if these religious views are actually opposed to the best interests of the state and its citizens. Do these religious views actually oppose the law of the land?
Irrelevant Humour, is a fallacy of intellectual avoidance. Uncomfortable arguments can be avoided by fallaciously using humour to dismiss the other side as useless and disposable.
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PIRIE, MADSEN (2006)(2015) How To Win Every Argument, Bloomsbury, London.
