no true scotsman

Fallacy of the week: “They” (ISIS) are not “True” Muslims

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The “No true Scotsman” ploy is an informal fallacy that is commonly deployed in order to maintain a specific position. For example … Person A – Islam is a religion of peace Person B – But what about ISIS? Person A – Ah but they are not “true” Muslims. Who first pointed out that “no true scotsman” was … Read more

Common Religious Claim: “No true Scotsman …”

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When you confront some believers with examples of truly outrageous religious behaviour, the common rebuttal is “Ah but they are not real believers, no true believer from my faith would …“. Now that indeed might be factually correct, but they are missing the key point, so let us now take a quick look at all this. First, what … Read more

Recognising the “No True Scotsman” fallacy in religion

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First, lets start with a clear understanding of the “No True Scotsman” fallacy.  This is basically where you challenge others about some rather unpleasant or even quite appalling actions by some group, and quickly discover that “they” are not “real” members of the group. The term was first deployed by philosopher Antony Flew in his … Read more