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honor by association
Guilt by association is a tactic often used by [[liberal]] and [[leftist]] activist groups to smear [[conservative]]s (often, in an attempt to imply some nebulous connection of mainstream conservatives to an imagined threat from the "radical right"). Examples of liberal groups making frequent use of this tactic include [[MoveOn.org]], [[Daily Kos]], the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], the [[Center for Democratic Renewal]], and [[Political Research Associates]].
Guilt by association is a tactic often used by [[liberal]] and [[leftist]] activist groups to smear [[conservative]]s (often, in an attempt to imply some nebulous connection of mainstream conservatives to an imagined threat from the "radical right"). Examples of liberal groups making frequent use of this tactic include [[MoveOn.org]], [[Daily Kos]], the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], the [[Center for Democratic Renewal]], and [[Political Research Associates]].
==The form of the fallacy==
Guilt by association is a [[logical fallacy|fallacy]] of relevance because the mere fact that a disliked person accepts a position says nothing about the truth of that position. In other words, the argument is fallacious whether or not the disliked person accepts the position, although it is commonly used even when the disliked person demonstrably disagrees with the position attributed to him. A common expression used to refute the fallacy is "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day." The fallacy takes the following form:
Guilt by association is a [[logical fallacy|fallacy]] of relevance because the mere fact that a disliked person accepts a position says nothing about the truth of that position. In other words, the argument is fallacious whether or not the disliked person accepts the position, although it is commonly used even when the disliked person demonstrably disagrees with the position attributed to him. A common expression used to refute the fallacy is "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day." The fallacy takes the following form:
*A certain disagreeable person agrees with ''P''.
*A certain disagreeable person agrees with ''P''.
*Therefore, ''P'' is false.
*Therefore, ''P'' is false.
An extreme example of guilt by association is the [[reductio ad Hitlerum]].
An extreme example of guilt by association is the [[reductio ad Hitlerum]].
==Honor by association==
The flip side of guilt by association is '''honor by association''', which takes the following form:
*A certain agreeable person agrees with ''P''.
*Therefore, ''P'' is true.
Guilt by association and honor by association are fallacious for the same reason. For example, the mere fact that someone good at sports is an atheist or a homosexual says nothing about whether God exists or whether homosexuality is moral.
==References==
==References==
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