The Value of Genetic Fallacies ANDREW C. WARD Division of Health Policy and Management University of Minnesota MMC 729 Mayo 8729 420 Delaware Minneapolis, MN 55455 U.S.A.
[email protected] Abstract: Since at least the 1938 pub- Resume: Depuis au moins la publica- lication of Hans Reichenbach’s Expe- tion de Experience and Predication de rience and Predication, there has been Hans Reichenbach en 1938 il s’est widespread agreement that, when dis- grandement répandu un accord qu’il cussing the beliefs that people have, it est important de distinguer les contex- is important to distinguish contexts of tes de découvertes des contextes de discovery and contexts of justification. justification lorsqu’on discute des Traditionally, when one conflates the croyances des gens. Traditionnelle- two contexts, the result is a “genetic ment, lorsqu’on confond ces deux fallacy”. This paper examines genea- contextes, le sophisme «génétique» logical critiques and addresses the en résulte. Dans cet article on examine question of whether such critiques are les critiques basées sur la généologie fallacious and, if so, whether this viti- d’une position, les fondements de ces ates their usefulness. The paper con- critiques, et leurs utilités même si elles cludes that while there may be one or sont fallacieuses. Bien qu’elles puis- more senses in which genealogical sent être fallacieuses, on conclut que critiques are fallacious, this does not ceci n’élimine pas la valeur des cri- vitiate their value. tiques généalogiques. Keywords: argument, context of discovery, context of justification, deduction, genetic fallacy, induction, informal logic. 1. Introduction Since at least the 1938 publication of Hans Reichenbach’s Experi- ence and Predication, and implicit in Frege’s earlier rejection of psychologism, there has been a widespread view that, when dis- cussing the beliefs that people have, it is important to distinguish contexts of discovery and contexts of justification.1 It is true that 1 As Hoyningen-Huene, 1987: pp.