Playing the man and not the ball

The global warming "debate" mainly consists of skeptics pointing to scientific facts and Warmists replying with personal abuse and accusations. The Warmist reply is, in other words, almost always an example of an ad hominem fallacy -- one of the classic informal fallacies that one encounters in the study of formal logic. The rough translation of the fallacy into sporting terminology is, "Playing the man and not the ball". In other words, one very rarely gets a survey of the relevant facts from Warmists. Appeals to authority (another informal fallacy) are about the best they can do.

Being a typical scientific skeptic, therefore, I take very little interest in personalities and in accordance with that orientation, I do not intend to reproduce or excerpt a recent interview with Marc Morano. I have the highest regard for Marc but just don't think that personalities should be the issue. I might note, however, that Marc does a good job of deflecting all the expected ad hominem accusations directed against him (accusing him of being a "creationist" etc.)

A young German physicist named Jörg Rings was however, much seized by the interview, and did an analysis of it. So was it the science he analysed? No way! He analysed Marc's "tactics" and concludes that they are very clever.

Finally, in the "Comments" section of his post (08:33 of 15.03.10) he observes as follows: "Und - ich werde jetzt nicht Godwins Zorn herabrufen - gewisse historische Figuren waren auch 'extremely clever and dangerous'". That translates as: "I am not going to call down wrath of Godwin - certain historical figures were also 'extremely clever and dangerous'". In other words he compares Marc to Hitler! How's that for an ad hominem argument! It's a classic!

It really is amusing how low Warmists have to stoop in their Kampf (struggle) with reality!

Posted by John Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.). For a daily critique of Leftist activities, see DISSECTING LEFTISM. To keep up with attacks on free speech see TONGUE-TIED. Also, don't forget your daily roundup of pro-environment but anti-Greenie news and commentary at GREENIE WATCH . Email me here

8 comments:

  1. JR, why no mention of the way that so-called skeptics - like the News Ltd hacks - play the man? All sides of this supposed debate are playing dirty. Would it hurt you to be fair about it?

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  2. Toaf is back!

    Biased still

    Toafy, my friend, we conservative bloggers KNOW how the Green/Left argue. We get it in our email and in comments left on our blogs

    And nary a fact in any of it

    But if you read GREENIE WATCH you will actually see a fair few journal abstracts -- if you know what they are

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  3. Wow. You really know how to debate, John. And then on cue you copy and paste from Andrew Bolt.

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  4. Toaf wants some confrontation. He is sick of the nodding acceptance at the lefty sites where the only negative responses he gets are when he is not bizarre enough.

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  5. "Toaf is back!"

    What makes you think the scumbag ever left.

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  6. ar completes the trifecta by playing the man. Sharp.

    MK, you wish.

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  7. See, the vermin never leave willingly.

    "ar completes the trifecta by playing the man. Sharp."

    What man, all i see is a whiny, sooking cockroach getting what it deserves.

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  8. Toaf. Ouch. And there I was thinking you were showing show human spirit after tiring the mindless groupthink of whatever leftist dung hill you hang around these days. SHows you can't give a lefty credit for anything.

    You're like the spolit brat who wants to sit at the adult table but when the adults finally relent the brat just plays with his food. In your case, shit-tasting blocks of soy product.

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