Something Must Be Done
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The "Politician's Syllogism" is a logical fallacy of the form:
- We must do something
- 'This' is something
- Therefore we must do 'this'
Aptly demonstrated in this episode of Yes Minister:
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Sir Arnold: It’s the old logical fallacy: All cats have four legs. My dog has four legs…..
Sir Humphrey: ...Therefore my dog is a cat.
Sir Arnold: He’s suffering from politician’s logic.
Sir Humphrey: Something must be done, this is something, therefore we must do it.
Sir Arnold: But doing the wrong thing is worse than doing nothing.
Sir Humphrey: Doing anything is worse than doing nothing