Fallacy?

Appeal to consensus

A claim is presented as settled because most experts accept it, in place of the evidence.

Also called: Bandwagon · Appeal to authority

The test

Is the consensus offered as a pointer to the evidence, or as a substitute for it?

Most of what any of us believe about science, we believe on trust, and rightly so. No one can check everything. Consensus is real evidence that a claim has survived scrutiny.

But a consensus is about a body of evidence, and it cannot be stronger than that evidence. When a reader asks a specific question and receives a head count in reply, the question has not been answered. The same is true of a list of dissenters.

Seen on both sides

In mainstream arguments
It would be an appeal to consensus to answer a specific question about how protein folds arise with “virtually all biologists accept evolution.”
In critical arguments
It would be an appeal to authority to present a list of scientists who doubt Darwinism as if their credentials settled the matter.
Not a fallacy when

For non-specialists, expert consensus is a reasonable guide to what is likely true. It becomes a fallacy when it is used to close a question about the evidence itself.

Diagnosed on this site

Not yet diagnosed in any pillar or claim card.

Further reading

  1. Walton DN. Appeal to Expert Opinion: Arguments from Authority. Penn State University Press (1997).