Appeal to Ignorance Paige Davis

Definition The fallacy that a proposition is true simply on the basis that it has not been proved false or that it is false simply because it has not been proved true.

The man in the picture assumes since aliens have not been discovered that they exist. He jumps to conclusions without proof which makes this Appeal to Ignorance.

Examples from The Crucible Act 1, page 172: Mrs. Putnam: How high did she fly, how high? Parris: No, no, she never flew- Mrs. Putnam: Why, it’s sure she did. Mr. Collins saw her goin’ over Ingersoll’s barn, and come down light as a bird, he says! Mrs. Putnam assumes that Betty did fly simply because someone told her it happened that it is true. Unless someone brings her evidence that it didn’t happen she will continue to believe it.

Continued Act 3, page 207 Martha Corey’s voice: “I am not innocent to a witch I know not what a witch is.” Hathorne: “How do you know, then, that you are not a witch.” Hathorne’s logic is that because Martha does not know what a witch is that she cannot say whether or not she is.

Universal Example Many people assume that since there is no evidence against the possibility of a god that one exists.

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