Bulverism Fallacy Examples in Real Life ,Politics, Media & Advertising
Table of Contents
Bulverism
What is Bulverism?
Bulverism is a fallacy that occurs when someone tries to refute an argument by attacking the person who made it instead of the argument itself. The term Bulverism refers to the use of ad hominem attacks and other logical fallacies to distort an opponent’s argument or position.
Bulverism is the idea that you can change someone’s opinion by presenting them with facts, even if those facts are incorrect.
This type of attack can be done in a number of ways, but often involves making personal attacks on someone’s intelligence or character.
The name “Bulverism” comes from C.S. Lewis’s book “The Abolition of Man,” which discusses how people use this fallacy to defend their own opinions and beliefs. The name comes from British philosopher C.S. Lewis’ character Professor Emilius Bulver, who makes this type of argument.
The name of this fallacy comes from a character named Mr. Bulver, who was created by British philosopher C.S Lewis as an example of someone who would be able to convince others through rational argumentation and persuasion, despite not having any facts or evidence on his side.
This type of fallacy can be seen when someone responds to another person’s argument with a personal attack rather than addressing the points made in the original argument.
One example of this would be if someone were responding to an article about how climate change is caused by humans with a comment such as, “You’re just saying that because you want more government control over our lives.”
Bulverism is a fallacy in which someone tries to make an argument by asserting that the person they are arguing with has made the same argument before.
An example of Bulverism would be if I said “you’re wrong because you’ve argued against my point before”
The fallacy of Bulverism typically comes in two forms:
- The first form of Bulverism is when a person makes up false information to try and convince others of their opinion.
- The second form of Bulverism is when a person presents true information as though it were false in order to make an argument stronger or more convincing than it really is.
An example of this would be if I said “I think that all dogs have four legs” but then cited pictures from Google images as my evidence for why they do.
Bulverism Fallacy Example
Bulverism Fallacy Examples in Advertising
Bulverism Fallacy in Advertising:
Bulverism is a fallacy in advertising that occurs when the advertiser convinces their audience to believe that they are being objective while actually pushing an agenda.
One example of Bulverism in advertising is when companies use celebrities to endorse products without disclosing the fact that these celebrities have been paid for their endorsement- which means they might not even like the product themselves!
Bulverism Fallacy Examples in Media & Politics
Bulverism Fallacy in Media & Politics:
Bulverism fallacy occurs when someone is unable to refute an argument, so they attack the person making it instead.
For example, a politician might have a difficult time defending their position on an issue, but can easily attack their opponent’s stance.
This is often seen in media coverage of politicians and celebrities
