Philosophy
201:
Appeal to Experts
Example
Here is an illustration of how you might go about doing the
“appeal to experts” assignment given in class. A couple of
things to note here: (1) You need not adopt any particular
method of bibliographic reference, but make it very easy for
me to find the original source, and cite it after every
sentence in which you refer to it. (2) It need not be pretty.
It’s not an essay. Just present the information as clearly as
you can.
ASSIGNMENT:
Some claim that creatures evolved from other forms of life. Is
this true?
Answer this question by constructing an appeal to experts
argument that meets all of
the criteria given in class. Document your findings as
follows:
1. State what profession(s) have the relevant expertise on the
issue.
2. Present two sources to support your conclusion about
whether creatures evolved from other forms of life. Use at
least two of the four methods given in class (i.e., a
literature review in a professional journal, a textbook, a
large professional organization, a poll of experts). You must
include a readable pdf or scan of the page on which you have
highlighted the passage where your source indicates the
consensus view on the topic. Be sure to include full
bibliographic information for each of your sources including a
URL if available.
3. For each source, document how it meets the criteria for
that kind of source given in class. For example, for a
professional journal, explain how you know it is a
professional journal using the criteria given in class; for a
professional organization, describe its membership; etc.
4. Finally, explain how your argument meets each of the three
criteria for an appeal to experts argument.
ANSWER:
The conclusion of this argument is that creatures evolved from
other forms of life.
1. The relevant experts are biologists, including botanists
and some anthropologists.
2. Two sources in support of this claim are:
(A) FASEB, "FASEB opposes using science classes to teach
intelligent design, creationism, and other non-scientific
beliefs," The FASEB Journal, Vol. 20, Issue 3, March
2006, p. 408.
The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
(FASEB) published an official statement that reads, in part,
“While there may be some disagreement about the details of
evolution, it is not a controversial theory among scientists.
Rather, there is overwhelming scientific consensus that
evolution is a valid explanation for the development of
species” (http://www.fasebj.org/content/20/3/408.full).
(B) Gregory C. Mayer, Professor in the Department of
Biological Sciences, U. of Wisconsin-Parkside, "The
Evidence For Evolution," The
Princeton Guide to Evolution, ed. by Jonathan B.
Losos (Princeton University Press, 2014), p. 38:
"As briefly reviewed here, all these lines of evidence, all
leading to the same conclusion, serve to make descent with
modification one of the most securely established high-level
generalizations in science and allow us to speak confidently
of the fact of evolution".
[Attach paper copies of your sources with the relevant
sentence or two highlighted.]
3. How I know that each source is appropriate for an appeal to
experts:
For source (A):
FASEB is an organization of the relevant experts listed above
(biologists, etc.). FASEB represents 22 professional societies
and 84,000 scientists (as stated on their web page at
http://www.fasebj.org/content/20/3/408.full).
For source (B):
The Princeton University Press is an academic press that
publishes scholarly, peer-reviewed books, as stated on their
website at:
https://press.princeton.edu/about_pup/mission.html.
4. How my argument meets each of the three criteria for appeal
to experts arguments:
The first criterion was that there must be an appeal to
experts in the relevant field(s). Both sources appeal to
biology professors and others with relevant expertise
regarding evolution. Mayer is a professor of biology
describing the consensus of evidence.
The second criterion was that there must be a consensus among
the experts in the field. Both sources indicate that the vast
majority of experts in the field agree that evolution
occurred.
The third criterion was that the experts be honest, sincere,
and relatively unbiased. While a few of those polled in the
larger surveys might well be dishonest or biased, it would be
unreasonable to believe that such large numbers of experts are
all lying for the sake of some ulterior motive. Such
conspiracy theories are unlikely to be true.
I conclude that the above appeal to experts is a strong
argument, and thus that it is likely true that evolution
occurred.