Appeal to authority is the rhetorical tactic of asserting a claim's truth solely on the basis that an authority figure or institution endorses it, bypassing independent evidence. Its parameters are: (1) the claimed proposition, (2) the invoked authority, (3) the gap between the authority's actual expertise and the claim's domain, and (4) the audience's pre-existing trust in the authority. It persists through cultural transmission of deference patterns, educational systems that conflate credentials with truth, and social networks that amplify authoritative endorsements. [formal: ad auctoritatem | substrate: behavior | horizon: a life | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
appeal-to-authority
Appeal to authority is the rhetorical tactic of asserting a claim's truth solely on the basis that an authority figure or institution endorses it, bypassing independent evidence. Its parameters are: (1) the claimed proposition, (2) the inv…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A human-made rhetorical tactic that asserts a claim is true because an authority figure or institution endorses it, rather than providing evidence. Built through social engineering that leverages hierarchical trust to bypass critical evaluation.
Names and aliases
- appeal-to-authorityen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrtrh7ri001jv7fatx3t7olxINSTANCE_OF →
Appeal to authority is a specific kind of logical fallacy where a claim is asserted true based solely on the authority of the source rather than evidence. A competent speaker calls it a fallacy. Law 9: specific→general.
- cmrn2b9bk01v9d1nlws1gj4eaINSTANCE_OF →
Appeal-to-authority IS a specific kind of logical fallacy — arguing a claim is true because an authority says so, without supporting evidence. Specific→general per Law 9. A competent speaker calls it a fallacy.
Relations to this entry
No accepted relations in this direction.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 21, 2026, 9:52 PM UTC
- Content hash
- 1f7c9689a6b494d0dda1e1ff4d0c3921012a7f4ffa42ed7b521e948ef6de083f