Topics Rationality

Question What do you call this type of argument? Stephen Hawking recently boycotted a prestigious Israeli academic conference, and many were quick to call him a hypocrite: "If you’re going to boycott Israel, please remove the Intel chip that allows you to speak" I was just wondering if there was a name for this type of argument? Thanks in advance.

Accepted:
May 15, 2013

Comments

This is a really excellent question, and a complicated issue. First coming to mind might be the ad hominem fallacy, if you take the argument to be something like "because you are a hypocrite, your position vis a vis boycotting should be rejected." But I don't think that many of the people who have raised this argument mean it in that fallacious sense (though perhaps some do). A deeper analysis might be that this isn't really an argument at all -- it's merely an attack on Hawking's character (w/o inviting others to reach any conclusion about the boycott in question). This seems reasonable: if Hawking truly is committed to some very general boycott of Israel, Israeli achievements, academics, etc., then consistency may well require that he give up his chip ... so this point calls attention to his 'boycott of convenience': portray himself as supportin a general boycott (perhaps to receive acclaim from those on that side) when he fact he doesn't. But then an even deeper analysis (perhaps intended by some of the people making the argument, though probably not that many) would be this: "How misguided it is to boycott things Israeli. For you boycott things Israeli in the belief that Israel/Israelis are somehow morally monstrous, but that belief is false: Israel/israelis does much good in the world, Israeli scientists, physicians, academics etc have done a tremendous amount to advance human progress and welfare etc etc ..." On this view the argument in question strikes me as fairly good (if complete one) ... Now I don't know if there are any names for these latter two 'kinds' of argument, so I can't answer that question -- but I presume the reason you're asking the question is because you think teh charge against Hawking is fallacious and you were seeking the name of the relevant fallacy ...

hope that's useful ..

ap