Fallacy Friday: Tu Quoque

The tu quoque fallacy is a form of ad hominem attack that is committed when a person’s claim is addressed as hypocritical because of past words or actions. The argument form follows that person A makes a claim X, person B asserts that A’s past claims are inconsistent, and therefore claim X is false. In debates, addressing hypocrisy often sidesteps the essential question. The rightness of a policy or a stance is separate from the consistency of any actor. For instance, cigarette smoking is a major cause of lung cancer; if a cigarette smoker suggests to a child that smoking is unhealthy, the truth stands despite his personal history. The tu quoque fallacy is admittedly tempting because humans attach a negative value to hypocrisy, but in argumentation its use borders on tangential. In Phi Kappa Hall, speakers need to stick to the essential question and avoid taking moral high ground when it means resorting to tangents or personal attacks. Hypocrisy is trenchant enough without its own appeal.