Question

Professor Stevens, the great English scholar, says that Chaucer's Canterbury Tales represents a mile-stone in the development of the English language. Therefore, the Canterbury Tales must indeed be a mile-stone, just as he says.

A) Appeal to force.
B) No fallacy.
C) Amphiboly.
D) Appeal to unqualified authority.
E) False cause.

Answer 1

B) No fallacy.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this example, the speaker is using the authority of Professor Stevens as a way to justify the claim he is making. This is an appeal to authority, and there is no consensus as to whether this is a valid claim or a fallacy. Some authors consider this a valid claim, as the authority is a legitimate expert in the subject. Other authors consider it a fallacy, and it receives the name of argumentum ad verecundiam. This is based on the idea that even an expert can be wrong, and therefore, this is not an appropriate source of evidence.