Not a true Scot

“ Not a true Scotsman ” is a term introduced by Antony Flew in his 1975 book Thinking About Thinking . In principle, it is stated that the lack of a ( social , legislative or scientific ) accepted definition for the subject of a thesis can lead to a fallacy . Flew refers to an argument that takes the following form:

Argument: "No Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge."

Answer: "But my uncle Angus is Scotch, and he does put sugar on his porridge."

Refutation: "No true Scot puts sugar on his porridge!"

This form of argumentation is a fallacy , since the set on which the assumption (here Scots) is based is redefined in the conclusion (here true Scots) (here as a subset).

On the other hand, for example, "No true vegetarian would eat a steak" is not a delusion, as it is derived from the accepted definition of a vegetarian.

Religious representatives in particular commit this fallacy by saying that no true believer in their religion would do anything in particular . According to Flew, however, there are so many different interpretations of a religion that behavior is of little importance. If there is no accepted definition of the subject, the initial argument should be accepted as the definition for discussion.

This rhetorical figure is also popular in politics; for example, when critics classify their opponents as not true socialists or conservatives if they hold an opinion that deviates from the party consensus.

literature

• Antony GN Flew: Thinking About Thinking. Do I Sincerely Want to Be Right? HarperCollins Distribution Services, London 1975, ISBN 978-0006335801 .