Q&A: What logical fallacy is the statement “A father and mother do not guarantee good parenting”
What logical fallacy is the statement “A father and mother do not guarantee good parenting”
Question
Hello,
Every so often I come across the claim from people who “don’t see a problem” with 2 fathers, which says: if there is a father and a mother, that does not guarantee good parenting, as proof of which there is abuse in families, etc.
I obviously feel that this is a stupid claim. It’s like saying you can buy fruit that hasn’t been sprayed at all because even in fruit that was sprayed there might still be pests inside. But I don’t know, technically, what this argument is called. Does it have a name?
Answer
If you mean the inference, then it is indeed invalid. But the claim itself (that two fathers are less good parents) needs to be examined on its own merits. I called this the “law of small numbers” (but that’s my own term). See column 38. Daniel Kahneman has names for these kinds of fallacies (various representativeness fallacies. Search online).