A logic question for all you logic nuts

[malfist]

I was wondering what the official Latin or Greek name for this type of argument:

They own slaves too, but we treat ours in a more humane way, therefore we are justified.
When even if the claims about humane treatment are true, the premise is false because slavery cannot be justified.

Malfist

[LaRoza]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_fallacy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies

Maybe that will help?

[p_quarles]

I don't know of a highly-specific name for that fallacy, but it falls under the broad category of begging the question (petitio principii). In other words, part of the premise is that owning slaves is okay if you treat them humanely, and the statement uses this same premise to arrive at an identical conclusion. Also known as circular reasoning.

It should be noted, though, that formal logical fallacies are a different animal than poor reasoning. Formal logical fallacies have everything to do with the syntax of the statement, and nothing to do with the actual truth or falsehood of the content of that statement. So, you could use circular reasoning to defend something good (like literacy) as well as something wrong.

[malfist]

Okay then, I'm writing a paper on Islam and Slavery and in my thesis I couldn't figure out how to restate that easily with few enough words so I though maybe that type has a name. Oh-well. I thought it might have been a Red Herring.

There's actually a suprising lack of information about Islamic slaves, as in I check out all the University's books that remotly dealt with the issue (and I walk out without needing help carrying the books or anything).

[gashcr]

I would call it... employment :P

[chucky chuckaluck]

i recall roelof botha making a simlar argument in support of apartheid. it went something along the lines of "rescuing them from the huts..." he seemed quite smug about the whole matter.