View source for Philosophy:Proof by assertion

{{short description|Informal fallacy in which a proposition is repeatedly restated regardless of contradiction}}
'''Proof by assertion''', sometimes informally referred to as '''proof by repeated assertion''', is an [[Informal fallacy|informal fallacy]] in which a proposition is repeatedly restated regardless of contradiction and refutation.<ref name="ADCTRDM196">Austin J. Freeley, David L. Steinberg, ''Argumentation and Debate; Critical Thinking for Reasoned Decision Making'' (Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Boston, 2009), p. 196</ref> The proposition can sometimes be repeated until any challenges or opposition cease, letting the proponent assert it as fact, and solely due to a lack of challengers (''argumentum ad nauseam'').<ref>''Forensic Science and Law'', ed. Cyril H. Wecht, John T. Rago (CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2006), p. 32</ref> In other cases, its repetition may be cited as evidence of its truth, in a variant of the appeal to authority or appeal to belief fallacies.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.philosophyinaction.com/academic/fallacies.html|title=Philosophy in Action: Logical Fallacies on Philosophy in Action|newspaper=Philosophy in Action|access-date=2017-02-17|language=en-US}}</ref>

This fallacy is sometimes used as a form of [[Philosophy:Rhetoric|rhetoric]] by politicians, or during a debate as a [[Social:Filibuster|filibuster]]. In its extreme form, it can also be a form of [[Social:Brainwashing|brainwashing]].<ref name="ADCTRDM196"/>
Modern politics contains many examples of proofs by assertion. This practice can be observed in the use of political slogans, and the distribution of "talking points", which are collections of short phrases that are issued to members of modern political parties for recitation, and in order to achieve maximum message repetition. The technique is also sometimes used in advertising.<ref>Robert Ruxton, 'Selling by the Printed Word', ''The Printing Art'', Vol. xxxix (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1922), p. 60</ref>

==See also==
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* ''Argumentum ad lapidem''
* [[Social:Big lie|Big lie]]
* [[Philosophy:Circular reasoning|Circular reasoning]]
* [[Social:Denialism|Denialism]]
* ''[[Philosophy:Ipse dixit|Ipse dixit]]''
* ''On Bullshit''
* Talking point
* [[Woozle effect]]
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==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Fallacies}}

[[Category:Informal fallacies]]



es:Prueba por aseveración

{{Sourceattribution|Proof by assertion}}