This qualification as a logical fallacy implies that this argument is invalid when using the deductive method, and therefore it cannot be presented as infallible. In other words, it is logically invalid to prove a claim is true simply because an authority has said it. The explanation is: authorities can be wrong, and the only way of logically proving a claim is providing real evidence or a valid logical deduction of the claim from the evidence.
When used in the inductive method, which implies the conclusions can not be proven with certainty, this argument can be considered a inductive argument the general form of this type of argument is:
Person(s) A claims that X is true.
Person(s) A is an expert in the field concerning X.
Therefore, X should be believed.
Inductively it can be used in a cogent form if all sides of a discussion agree on the reliability of the cited authority in the given context.
Scientific knowledge is best established by evidence and experiment rather than argued through authority as authority has no place in science. Carl Sagan wrote of arguments from authority: "One of the great commandments of science is, 'Mistrust arguments from authority.' ... Too many such arguments have proved too painfully wrong. Authorities must prove their contentions like everybody else."
One example of the use of the appeal to authority in science dates to 1923, when leading American zoologist Theophilus Painter declared, based on poor data and conflicting observations he had made, that humans had 24 pairs of chromosomes. From the 1920s until 1956, scientists propagated this "fact" based on Painter's authority, despite subsequent counts totaling the correct number of 23. Even textbooks with photos showing 23 pairs incorrectly declared the number to be 24 based on the authority of the then-consensus of 24 pairs.
Arguments from authority that are based on the idea that a person should conform to the opinion of a perceived authority or authoritative group are rooted in psychological cognitive biases such as the Asch effect. In repeated and modified instances of the Asch conformity experiments, it was found that high-status individuals create a stronger likelihood of a subject agreeing with an obviously false conclusion, despite the subject normally being able to clearly see that the answer was incorrect.
Further, humans have been shown to feel strong emotional pressure to conform to authorities and majority positions. A repeat of the experiments by another group of researchers found that "Participants reported considerable distress under the group pressure", with 59% conforming at least once and agreeing with the clearly incorrect answer, whereas the incorrect answer was much more rarely given when no such pressures were present.
Another study shining light on the psychological basis of the fallacy as it relates to perceived authorities are the Milgram experiments, which demonstrated that people are more likely to go along with something when it is presented by an authority. In a variation of a study where the researchers did not wear lab coats, thus reducing the perceived authority of the tasker, the obedience level dropped to 20% from the original rate, which had been higher than 50%. Obedience is encouraged by reminding the individual of what a perceived authority states and by showing them that their opinion goes against this authority.
Scholars have noted that certain environments can produce an ideal situation for these processes to take hold, giving rise to groupthink. In groupthink, individuals in a group feel inclined to minimize conflict and encourage conformity. Through an appeal to authority, a group member might present that opinion as a consensus and encourage the other group members to engage in groupthink by not disagreeing with this perceived consensus or authority. One paper about the philosophy of mathematics states that, within academia,
If...a person accepts our discipline, and goes through two or three years of graduate study in mathematics, he absorbs our way of thinking, and is no longer the critical outsider he once was...If the student is unable to absorb our way of thinking, we flunk him out, of course. If he gets through our obstacle course and then decides that our arguments are unclear or incorrect, we dismiss him as a crank, crackpot, or misfit.
Corporate environments are similarly vulnerable to appeals to perceived authorities and experts leading to groupthink, as are governments and militaries.
Latin: argumentum ab auctoritate. Also called an appeal to authority, or argumentum ad verecundiam. /wiki/Latin
"Fallacies". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/fallacies/
Sadler, Troy (2006). "Promoting Discourse and Argumentation in Science Teacher Education". Journal of Science Teacher Education. 17 (4): 330. doi:10.1007/s10972-006-9025-4. S2CID 144949172. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Cummings, Louise (2015). "Argument from Authority". Reasoning and Public Health: New Ways of Coping with Uncertainty. Springer. pp. 67–92. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-15013-0_4. ISBN 9783319150130. The argument from authority has had many detractors throughout the long history of logic. It is not difficult to see why this is the case. After all, the argument resorts to the use of opinion to support a claim rather than a range of more objective sources of support (e.g. evidence from experiments, observations, or measurements)...These difficulties and other weaknesses of authority arguments have found these arguments maligned in the logical treatises of several historical thinkers...'argument from authority has been mentioned in lists of valid argument-forms as often as in lists of Fallacies' 9783319150130
Underwood, R.H. (1994). "Logic and the Common law Trial". American Journal of Trial Advocacy: 166. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1258&context=law_facpub
Cummings, Louise (2015). "Argument from Authority". Reasoning and Public Health: New Ways of Coping with Uncertainty. Springer. pp. 67–92. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-15013-0_4. ISBN 9783319150130. The argument from authority has had many detractors throughout the long history of logic. It is not difficult to see why this is the case. After all, the argument resorts to the use of opinion to support a claim rather than a range of more objective sources of support (e.g. evidence from experiments)...These difficulties and other weaknesses of authority arguments have found these arguments maligned in the logical treatises of several historical thinkers...'argument from authority has been mentioned in lists of valid argument-forms as often as in lists of Fallacies' 9783319150130
Underwood, R.H. (1994). "Logic and the Common law Trial". American Journal of Trial Advocacy: 166. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1258&context=law_facpub
"Fallacies". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/fallacies/
Lewiński, Marcin (2008). "Comments on 'Black box arguments'". Argumentation. 22 (3): 447–451. doi:10.1007/s10503-008-9095-x. https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10503-008-9095-x
Eemeren, Frans (2010). Strategic Maneuvering in Argumentative Discourse: Extending the Pragma-dialectical Theory of Argumentation. John Benjamins. p. 203. ISBN 978-9027211194. 978-9027211194
"Appeal to Authority". Association for Critical Thinking. Archived from the original on 2017-11-01. Retrieved 2017-08-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20171101193626/http://www.critical-thinking.org.uk/critical-thinking/fallacies/appeal-to-authority.php
Salmon, Merrilee H. (2013). Introduction to logic and critical thinking (6th ed.). Boston: Wadsworth. pp. 118–121. ISBN 9781133049753. OCLC 805951311. 9781133049753
Bedau, Mark (2009). The ethics of protocells. Boston, Massachusetts; London, England: Mit Press. pp. 341. ISBN 978-0-262-01262-1. 978-0-262-01262-1
Goodwin, Jean; McKerrow, Raymie (2011). "Accounting for the force of the appeal to authority". OSSA Conference Archive. http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=ossaarchive
Sadler, Troy (2006). "Promoting Discourse and Argumentation in Science Teacher Education". Journal of Science Teacher Education. 17 (4): 330. doi:10.1007/s10972-006-9025-4. S2CID 144949172. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Carroll, Robert. "Appeal to Authority". The Skeptic's Dictionary. http://www.skepdic.com/authorty.html
Woodward, Ian. "Ignorance is Contagious" (PDF). University of Tasmania. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2017-08-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20160404011911/http://www.geol.utas.edu.au/geography/EIANZ/Ignorance_is_contagious_(July_2008).pdf
Knight, Sue; Collins, Carol (October 2005). "The Cultivation of Reason Giving". International Journal of the Humanities. 3 (2): 187.[dead link] http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/25038782
"The Rival Theories of Cholera". Medical Press and Circular. 90: 28. 1885. https://books.google.com/books?id=wBgCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA28
Williamson, Owen. "Master List of Logical Fallacies". The University of Texas at El Paso. http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/ENGL1311/fallacies.htm
Goodwin, Jean (May 1998). "Forms of Authority and the Real Ad Verecundiam". Argumentation. 12 (2): 267–280. doi:10.1023/A:1007756117287 – via Springer Science+Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007756117287
Garrett, Aaron (2014). The Routledge Companion to Eighteenth Century Philosophy. Routledge. p. 280. ISBN 9781317807926. demonstrations proceed deductively while probable reasoning involves inductive inferences. 9781317807926
McBride, Michael. "Retrospective Scientific Evaluation". Yale University. Archived from the original on 2010-07-24. Retrieved 2017-08-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20100724053801/https://webspace.yale.edu/chem125/125/history99/8Occult/OccultAtoms.html#ret
Zinser, Otto (1984). Basic Principles of Experimental Psychology. McGraw-Hill. p. 37. ISBN 9780070728455. 9780070728455
Stephen, Leslie (1882). The Science of Ethics. G. P. Putnam's sons. p. viii. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.175355
Garrett, Aaron (2014). The Routledge Companion to Eighteenth Century Philosophy. Routledge. p. 280. ISBN 9781317807926. demonstrations proceed deductively while probable reasoning involves inductive inferences. 9781317807926
Curtis, Gary N. "Misleading Appeal to Authority". The Fallacy Files. Retrieved 2021-07-08. https://www.fallacyfiles.org/authorit.html
"Fallacies". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/fallacies/
Williamson, Owen. "Master List of Logical Fallacies". The University of Texas at El Paso. http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/ENGL1311/fallacies.htm
Ruggiero, Tim. "Logical Fallacies". http://www.philosophicalsociety.com/Logical%20Fallacies.htm#argumentum%20ad%20lazarum%20--%20The%20fallacy%20of%20supposing%20a%20conclusion%20is%20valid%20because%20the%20argument%20is%20made%20by%20a%20poor%20person.%20It%20is%20the%20opposite%20of%20the%20ad%20crumenam%20fallacy.
Bennett, Bo. "Appeal to the Common Man". Logically Fallacious. http://www.logicallyfallacious.com/index.php/logical-fallacies/24-appeal-to-common-folk
McBride, Michael. "Retrospective Scientific Evaluation". Yale University. Archived from the original on 2010-07-24. Retrieved 2017-08-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20100724053801/https://webspace.yale.edu/chem125/125/history99/8Occult/OccultAtoms.html#ret
Zinser, Otto (1984). Basic Principles of Experimental Psychology. McGraw-Hill. p. 37. ISBN 9780070728455. 9780070728455
Stephen, Leslie (1882). The Science of Ethics. G. P. Putnam's sons. p. viii. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.175355
Zinser, Otto (1984). Basic Principles of Experimental Psychology. McGraw-Hill. p. 37. ISBN 9780070728455. 9780070728455
Stevenson, I. (1990). Some of My Journeys in Medicine (PDF). The University of Southwestern Louisiana. p. 18. https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/wp-content/uploads/sites/360/2015/11/some-of-my-journeys-in-medicine.pdf
Quick, James Campbell; Little, Laura M.; Cooper, Cary L.; Gibbs, Philip C.; Nelson, Debra (2010). "Organizational Behavior". International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology: 278. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229724832
Sagan, Carl (July 6, 2011). The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Ballantine Books. ISBN 9780307801043. 9780307801043
Painter, Theophilus S. (April 1923), "Studies in mammalian spermatogenesis. II. The spermatogenesis of man", Journal of Experimental Zoology, 37 (3): 291–336, doi:10.1002/jez.1400370303 /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Glass, Bentley (1990). Theophilus Shickel Painter (PDF). Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences. pp. 316–17. http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/painter-theophilus-shickel.pdf
Mertens, Thomas (October 1979). "The Role of Factual Knowledge in Biology Teaching". The American Biology Teacher. 41 (7): 395–419. doi:10.2307/4446671. JSTOR 4446671. /wiki/The_American_Biology_Teacher
Tjio, Joe Hin; Levan, Albert (May 1956), "The Chromosome Number of Man", Hereditas, 42 (1–2): 723–4, doi:10.1111/j.1601-5223.1956.tb03010.x, PMID 345813 /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
O'Connor, Clare (2008), Human Chromosome Number, Nature, retrieved April 24, 2014 http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/Human-Chromosome-Number-294
Gartler, Stanley (2006). "The Chromosome Number in Humans: A Brief History". Nature Reviews Genetics. 7 (8): 655–60. doi:10.1038/nrg1917. PMID 16847465. S2CID 21365693. http://www.nature.com/scitable/content/The-chromosome-number-in-humans-a-brief-15575
Mertens, Thomas (October 1979). "The Role of Factual Knowledge in Biology Teaching". The American Biology Teacher. 41 (7): 395–419. doi:10.2307/4446671. JSTOR 4446671. /wiki/The_American_Biology_Teacher
Glass, Bentley (1990). Theophilus Shickel Painter (PDF). Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences. pp. 316–17. http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/painter-theophilus-shickel.pdf
Orrell, David PhD. (2008). The Future of Everything: The Science of Prediction. pp. 184–85. /wiki/Apollo%27s_Arrow
Glass, Bentley (1990). Theophilus Shickel Painter (PDF). Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences. pp. 316–17. http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/painter-theophilus-shickel.pdf
Orrell, David PhD. (2008). The Future of Everything: The Science of Prediction. pp. 184–85. /wiki/Apollo%27s_Arrow
Kevles, Daniel J. (1985). "Human Chromosomes--Down's Disorder and the Binder's Mistakes" (PDF). Engineering and Science: 9. http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/594/2/Kevles.pdf
Kevles, Daniel J. (1985). "Human Chromosomes--Down's Disorder and the Binder's Mistakes" (PDF). Engineering and Science: 9. http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/594/2/Kevles.pdf
Orrell, David PhD. (2008). The Future of Everything: The Science of Prediction. pp. 184–85. /wiki/Apollo%27s_Arrow
T. C., Hsu (1979). "Out of the Dark Ages: Human and Mammalian Cytogenetics: An Historical Perspective" (PDF). Cell. 18 (4): 1375–1376. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(79)90249-6. S2CID 54330665. http://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/0092-8674%2879%2990249-6.pdf
Unger, Lawrence; Blystone, Robert (1996). "Paradigm Lost: The Human Chromosome Story" (PDF). Bioscene. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-05. Retrieved 2016-03-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20060905015828/http://amcbt.indstate.edu/volume_22/v22-2p3-9.pdf
Sammut, Gordon; Bauer, Martin W (2011). "Social Influence: Modes and Modalities". The Social Psychology of Communication (PDF). pp. 87–106. doi:10.1057/9780230297616_5. ISBN 978-0-230-24736-9. 978-0-230-24736-9
Delameter, Andrew (2017). "Contrasting Scientific & Non-Scientific Approaches to Acquiring Knowledge". City University of New York. http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/psych/delam/57/Lecture1.pptx
Sheldon, Brian; Macdonald, Geraldine (2010). A Textbook of Social Work. Routledge. p. 40. ISBN 9781135282615. 9781135282615
Bates, Jordan (16 March 2016). "12 Psychological Tactics Donald Trump Uses to Manipulate the Masses". 11. Appeals to Authority. https://highexistence.com/12-psychological-tactics-donald-trump-uses-to-manipulate-the-masses/
McLeod, Samuel (2008), Asch Experiment, Simply Psychology http://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html
Webley, Paul, A partial and non-evaluative history of the Asch effect, University of Exeter http://people.exeter.ac.uk/PWebley/psy1002/asch.html
Milgram, S (1965). "Some conditions of obedience and disobedience to authority". Human Relations. 18 (1): 57–76. doi:10.1177/001872676501800105. S2CID 37505499. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Milgram, S (1965). "Some conditions of obedience and disobedience to authority". Human Relations. 18 (1): 57–76. doi:10.1177/001872676501800105. S2CID 37505499. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
"December 2014 – Page 2". Disrupted Physician. 22 December 2014. https://disruptedphysician.blog/2014/12/page/2/
Definition of GROUPTHINK. (2017). Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/groupthink https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/groupthink
Rossi, Stacey (2006). "Examination of Exclusion Rates in Massachusetts Public Schools" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED492086.pdf
David, Phillip J.; Hersh, Reuben (1998). New Directions in the Philosophy of Mathematics (PDF). Princeton University Press. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042349/http://users-cs.au.dk/danvy/the-ideal-mathematician.pdf
Lookwin, B. (2015). "Biopharma Training". Archived from the original on 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2017-09-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) https://web.archive.org/web/20170912195209/http://www.biopharminternational.com/raising-bar-biopharma-training
Janis, Irving L. (1971). "Groupthink" (PDF). Psychology Today. http://agcommtheory.pbworks.com/f/GroupThink.pdf