In this example, the person using the appeal to definition is relying on a specific definition for the word “theory” in order to argue against the theory of evolution. “We should ignore the theory of evolution, because the dictionary says that a theory is just an opinion that you have about something you can’t prove.” This also represents an example of cherry-picking, since most dictionaries (such as the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and the Cambridge Dictionary) also contain the meaning of the term that Alex meant to convey for the term “freezing”, often as its main definition.Īnother example of the appeal to definition is the following: Here, Bob is using the appeal to definition when he claims that Alex’s statement is wrong, by using a dictionary definition of the term “freezing”, that doesn’t reflect the meaning of the term that Alex meant to convey (which is along the lines of “very cold”). One example of the appeal to definition is the following:īob: the dictionary says that ‘freezing’ means “being at the temperature at which water turns into ice or below it”, and it’s clearly not that cold here.
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