Conflict of Interest
Also: Circumstantial Ad Hominem, Appeal to Motive
Class: Evade > Irrelevant > Personal Attack
Assuming the other person’s view must
be wrong just because it may help them.
Actually someone can still be correct
even if they are biased.
The only reason she got the job is because her aunt is a manager there.
Not necessarily. Multiple managers there interviewed her.
Of course that podcast recommends ACME anvils. ACME pays for ads on their podcast.
Not necessarily. They gave a full disclosure and did a thorough product review.
I don’t trust big pharma. They just want to sell more medicines.
Just because they profit from medicines doesn’t mean the medicines are bad.
He thinks corporate taxes should be cut only because he and his wealthy friends own businesses.
It’s cynical to assume others are only selfish.
They’re passing popular laws just because they want to get reelected!
Isn’t that what politicians are supposed to do?
Foolacy vs. Fallacy
This is a type of Ad Hominem attack, based on the Appeal to Motive fallacy (Circumstantial Ad Hominem). This assumes any bias automatically invalidates your arguments.
A related concept is the
Furtive Fallacy, which assumes most outcomes are the result of wrongdoing rather than unforseen consequences or honest errors. The counterargument to this is Hanlon’s Razor: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”