"The
Unpopular"
“The
question isn’t who is going to let me; it is who is going to stop me.” When Ayn
Rand spoke these words, she was expressing herself by swaying away from the
norm. She had a plan and although some may judge her or even persecute her she was
going to stand up for herself and what she believed. She was going to be her
own person and was not going to let others get in her way. This is a perfect
example of the fallacy rugged individualism.
If we break
down these words, rugged individualism, we get the words “determined
independence,” which is exactly what this fallacy is about. Rugged
individualism “attempts to support a position by appealing to the opinion of
a small (but opinionated) group of people, or even of a single
person" (Thompson, B.). This fallacy says that because something is unpopular
it should be accepted. In other words, by going against the norm an individual
is able to better express him/herself.
Generally
speaking, majority of people accept things not because they are unpopular but
because they are popular. When things are unpopular, there is probable
reasoning behind it. For example, people do not wear socks on their hands
because socks were designed to be worn on the feet. Perhaps something is not popular because it is
dangerous or unpleasant, like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute or
eating pickle and banana salad. Many times there is no gain in doing that of
which is unpopular and having the desire to work alone, without the assistance
of others. This is why the fallacy of rugged individualism is a flaw in
reasoning.
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