Santorum and the "Argument from Nausea"
The most popular form of logic in the public arena these days is what I call the "argument from personal incredulity."
"I find it hard to believe that" monkey like creatures gradually changed into people through some natural process, or increasing the government debt decreases unemployment, or we landed on the moon, or that contraception decreases pregnancies. Whatever the claim, I can refute it by saying it is hard for me to believe. This type of argument is particularly handy when many people are confused on a topic. Mass incredulity can be invoked in support of personal incredulity, as in "try telling the American people" that balancing the budget would cause a depression.
This is all cousin to the adolescent "argument from intensity of emotion." Again, an irrational internal personal perception is boot-strapped into fact. You say the income tax is nessecary policy. I say that everyone involved in collecting the income tax should be tortured to death. See, my view is more passionate than yours and thus obviously correct. And if I threaten to hit you then my stance is even liklier to be correct. For instance, "want to come out in the parking lot and tell me again that you think the income tax is a good idea?"
Rick Santorum has now set a new public standard of argument in his comments on JFK. He says that JFK's speech about how the Vatican wouldn't run the US government in a Kennedy presidency makes Rick Santorum want to throw up.
This is the "argument from nausea." Rather than making an argument, just announce that the other side's position makes you want to throw up.
. . . On Sunday, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Santorum whether he stood by his statement last year, noting that Santorum’s rival, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R), delivered an address on religion during the 2008 campaign that garnered comparisons to Kennedy’s address.
Santorum defended his remarks, telling Stephanopoulos that “the first line, first substantive line in the speech, says, ‘I believe in America where the separation of church and state is absolute.’” ...
. . .Later in the interview, Stephanopoulos asked Santorum, “You think you wanted to throw up?” “Well, yes, absolutely,” Santorum replied. “To say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes you throw up. What kind of country do we live that says only people of non-faith can come into the public square and make their case? That makes me throw up.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/santorum-says-he-almost-threw-up-after-reading-jfk-speech-on-separation-of-church-and-state/2012/02/26/gIQA91hubR_blog.html?hpid=z1
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