Argument from etymology

For the record: This is untrue. The word "universe" more accurately translates to "all things into one", because it is where all things are found.[1]

Cogito ergo sum
Logic and rhetoric

Key articles

* Logical fallacy
* Syllogism
* Argument

General logic

* Exception that proves the rule
* Whataboutism
* Appeal to pity
* Evil is the absence of God
* Traditional Square of Opposition
* Wet van Poe

Bad logic

* My enemy's enemy
* Ipse dixit
* Fallacy fallacy
* Golden hammer
* Overprecision
* Not an argument

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“”Hairy: Remember, there's no "I" in "team".
Cueball: No, but there's a "U" in "People who apparently don't understand the relationship between orthography and meaning".

—xkcd[2]

An argument from etymology is an informal logical fallacy typically used by fundamentalist Christians, which attempts to prove something through pointing out an etymology (or a folk-etymology or a false etymology or a pseudo-etymology) of some term being used as opposed to actually making the case based on substance.

## Contents

* 1 Why it doesn't make sense
* 2 Examples
* 2.1 Use by Flat Earthers
* 3 See also
* 4 References

## Why it doesn't make sense[edit]

Being as generous as possible, modern English began around the sixteenth century.[3] Given how much science has advanced in that time, it is understandable that many of our phrases might come off as outdated as new scientific knowledge proves the assumptions that caused us to first use them were incorrect. However, many still keep using the factually incorrect expressions, whether because of tradition, because of convenience, or because it still expresses a metaphorical truth even if it fails to express a factual one.

A good example of this is the phrase "broken heart," which comes from the notion that the human heart is the center of all emotions.[4] In truth, all the heart actually does is circulate blood throughout one's body,[5] with one's emotions actually coming from the hypothalamus in the brain.[6] In the same regard, the etymology of "disaster" comes from the Italian disastro, meaning "ill-starred", because it used to be believed that natural disasters were the result of certain stars.[7] (This view actually got a mention in William Shakespeare's famous play Julius Caesar, specifically when Cassius tells Brutus "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves, that we are underlings."[8] As one website notes "This line refers to the influence of destiny"[9] with Shakespeare using the belief that stars control the world around us as a rhetorical device to make his point.)

## Examples[edit]

During one lecture, Kent Hovind attempted to prove that the universe was created by God through saying the word "universe" means "singular spoken sentence."[10] This was also used by creationist Joshua Feuerstein, who claimed the word "universe" means "a single spoken statement."[11] The Amazing Atheist parodied this argument in one video through claiming the word "galaxy" means God is real because when a woman is being murdered by an axe she screams "Oh God!"[12]

In September 2020, Michael Knowles spent an episode of his show saying that the concept of statistics was created by liberals to advance the interests of the state. His main reason for this is that the word in German comes from the same root as "statist" and therefore refers to collecting data on behalf of the state. Because of this, he feels that conservatives shouldn't use statistics — unless they help his cause of course.[13]

### Use by Flat Earthers[edit]

See the main article on this topic: Flat Earth

Picture from Dubay's rap.[14]

For some reason, this fallacy is a favorite among those who believe that the Earth is flat. Given many of their ideas are on the ancient side, it's very tempting for them to act like they have uncovered some old truth which has been hidden from us, in this case the etymology of the words representing what the words actually mean today.

Flat Earthers often claim that NASA in Hebrew means "to deceive". They cite that transliteration of נָשָׁא being Nāšā. What they fail to realize is that it is pronounced "naw-shaw". A closer sounding word in Hebrew is נָשָׂא, which translates to either "lift, carry or to take" and is pronounced "naw-saw".[15] (One is also forced to wonder why an organization that aims "to deceive" would be so sloppy as to put their goal in their name, especially given that Hebrew is spoken by about nine million people,[16] meaning any of them could figure out the true intention of the agency rather easily.)

In a rap, the flat Earther/Holocaust denier Eric Dubay declared that the word "government" broken down means "control of the mind". However, the graphic he shows actually sees the word being broken down to mean "to guide" for "govern" and "mind" for "ment."[14] Given "guiding" and "controlling" are not the same thing, this argument is already on thin ice. However, it gets even sillier when you realize Dubay has his Latin all wrong, as "government" more accurately breaks down to "instrument used to direct or rule".[17]

Although not a work of Dubay, a book he has read out on his channel called 50 Scientific Facts for the Downfall of Modern Astronomy by Ebenezer Breach uses this exact point as early as its first example, which reads:

> The word Astronomy is taken from the Greek words signifying the Laws of the Stars. Astron, a star, Nomos, a law. Nemo, to regulate a science that explains the regulation of the star. It is quite distinct from the science of Physical Geography, which belongs entirely to the Earth. For Astronomy we must look up; for George, look down.[18]

ODD Reality, a YouTube channel which promotes the flat earth, has also engaged in this before. In their video "The Case for Flat Earth," they argue the Earth can be flat despite all of the planets being round on the basis that the Earth is not a planet. Instead, they claim, the universe has seven planets (the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn) which represent the seven days of the week, because planets were known to the ancients as "wandering stars" and they did not consider the Earth to be a "wandering star."[19] How this impacts calendars that don't have seven days a week, like the French Republican Calendar,[20] is left unexplained. Also unexplained is why we should take the ancients' conception of the solar system as describing reality when they didn't even know what the planets were.

## See also[edit]

* Argumentum ad dictionarium
* Mistaking the map for the territory

## References[edit]

1. ↑ universe
2. ↑ XKCD 1562 by Randall Munroe.
3. ↑ A Brief History of the English Language: From Old English to Modern Days
4. ↑ What Does Broken Heart Mean?
5. ↑ How the heart works
6. ↑ What Part of the Brain Controls Emotions?
7. ↑ Origins of Disaster
8. ↑ The Life and Death of Julius Caesar Act 1, Scene 2
9. ↑ The fault, dear Brutus
10. ↑ Creation Seminar 1 - The Age of the Earth (FULL) Kent Hovind
11. ↑ Dear Mr Atheist allow me to destroy evolution in 3 minutes!
12. ↑ SCIENCE IS A LIE! (ATHEISM DEFEATED)
13. ↑ Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics | The Michael Knowles Show Ep. 609
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Once you go flat rap by Eric Dubay
15. ↑ What Does NASA Mean In Hebrew?
16. ↑ 7 Interesting Facts About the Hebrew Language for Hanukkah
17. ↑ Does “Government” Mean “Mind Control” In Latin?
18. ↑ 50 Scientific Facts for the Downfall of Modern Astronomy
19. ↑ The Case for Flat Earth ODD TV (May 6, 2018) YouTube.
20. ↑ French republican calendar Encyclopedia Britannica

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Articles about logical fallacies

Informal fallacies: |

Appeal to tradition • Appeal to novelty • Appeal to nature • Argument from morality • Argumentum ad martyrdom • Big words • Certum est quia impossibile est • Morton's fork • Friend argument • Exception that proves the rule • Extended analogy • Hindsight bias • Race card • Moralistic fallacy • Release the data • Gish Gallop • Terrorism-baiting • Uncertainty tactic • Greece-baiting • Ham Hightail • Red-baiting • Gore's Law • Nazi analogies • Mistaking the map for the territory • Red herring • Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur • Presentism • Sunk cost • Two wrongs make a right • Flying carpet fallacy • My enemy's enemy • Appeal to ancient wisdom • Danth's Law • Argumentum ad lunam • Balance fallacy • Golden hammer • Loaded question • Escape to the future • Word magic • Spider-Man fallacy • Sanctioning the devil • Appeal to mystery • Informal fallacy • Common sense • Post-designation • Hyperbole • Relativist fallacy • Due diligence • Straw man • Good old days • Appeal to probability • Infinite regress • Circular reasoning • Media was wrong before • Is–ought problem • Ad iram • Just asking questions • Pink-baiting • Appeal to faith • Appeal to fear • Appeal to bias • Appeal to confidence • Appeal to consequences • Appeal to emotion • Appeal to flattery • Appeal to gravity • Appeal to hate • Argument from omniscience • Argument from silence • Argumentum ad baculum • Argumentum ad fastidium • Association fallacy • Broken window fallacy • Category mistake • Confounding factor • Counterfactual fallacy • Courtier's Reply • Damning with faint praise • Definitional fallacies • Equivocation • Fallacy of accent • Fallacy of accident • Fallacy of amphiboly • Gambler's fallacy • Imprecision fallacy • Moving the goalposts • Nirvana fallacy • Overprecision • Pathos gambit • Pragmatic fallacy • Quote mining • Argumentum ad sarcina inserta • Science doesn't know everything • Slothful induction • Spotlight fallacy • Style over substance • Toupee fallacy • Genuine but insignificant cause • Argument from incredulity • Appeal to age • Argumentum ad nauseam • Phantom distinction • Appeal to common sense • Argumentum ad hysteria • Omnipotence paradox • Appeal to trauma • Countless counterfeits fallacy •

| Ad hoc: |

No True Scotsman • Moving the goalposts • Escape hatch • Handwave • Special pleading • Slothful induction • Nirvana fallacy • God of the gaps • PIDOOMA • Ad hoc • Tone argument •

| Arguments from ignorance: |

Science doesn't know everything • Argument from incredulity • Argument from silence • Toupee fallacy • Appeal to censorship • Science was wrong before • Holmesian fallacy • Argument from omniscience • Willful ignorance • Argument from ignorance •

| Causation fallacies: |

Post hoc, ergo propter hoc • Correlation does not imply causation • Wrong direction • Counterfactual fallacy • Regression fallacy • Gambler's fallacy • Denying the antecedent • Genuine but insignificant cause •

| Circular reasoning: |

Infinite regress • Argument by assertion • Argumentum ad dictionarium • Appeal to faith • Circular reasoning • Self-refuting idea •

| Emotional appeals: |

Appeal to fear • Appeal to emotion • Appeal to confidence • Deepity • Argumentum ad baculum • Appeal to shame • Appeal to flattery • Tone argument • Appeal to money • Argumentum ad fastidium • Appeal to gravity • Appeal to consequences • Loaded language • Style over substance • Appeal to pity • Appeal to hate • Pathos gambit • Shaming • Degenerate • Abomination •

| Fallacies of ambiguity: |

Fallacy of accent • Equivocation • Fallacy of amphiboly • Quote mining • Fallacy of ambiguity • Moral equivalence • Scope fallacy • Suppressed correlative • Not as bad as • Etymology • Continuum fallacy • Wronger than wrong • Definitional fallacies • Code word • Phantom distinction •

Formal fallacies: |

Confusion of the inverse • Denying the antecedent • Non sequitur • Affirmative conclusion from a negative premise • Not even wrong • Chewbacca Defense • Affirming a disjunct • Illicit process • Four-term fallacy • Negative conclusion from affirmative premises • Fallacy fallacy • Substituting explanation for premise • Enthymeme • Syllogism • Formal fallacy • Existential assumption • Masked man fallacy • Self-refuting idea • Argument by gibberish • One single proof • Affirming the consequent • False dilemma • Conjunction fallacy •

Fallacious arguments: |

Bumblebee argument • Fatwa envy • Gotcha argument • Hoyle's fallacy • Intuition pump • Logic and Creation • Not Circular Reasoning • Peanut butter argument • Great Beethoven fallacy • Fallacy of unique founding conditions • Evil is the absence of God • Argument from first cause • How do you know? Were you there? • Argument from design • Argument from beauty • Appeal to nature • Solferino fallacy • Religious scientists • Nothing to hide • Argument from fine tuning • Creep shaming • "I used to be an atheist" • Atheism as a religion • Argumentum ad populum • Argument from morality • Anti-environmentalism • Appeal to bias • Apophasis • Argumentum ad nauseam • Appeal to censorship • Argumentum ad sarcina inserta • Blaming the victim • Bait-and-switch • Danth's Law • Chewbacca Defense • Canard • DARVO • Demonization • Escape hatch • Friend argument • Everyone is racist • Gish Gallop • Greece-baiting • Gore's Law • Ham Hightail • Just asking questions • Leading question • Loaded language • Linking to authority • Loaded question • Lying by omission • Motte and bailey • Nazi analogies • Moving the goalposts • One single proof • Pink-baiting • One-way hash argument • Pathos gambit • Quote mining • Poisoning the well • Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur • Race card • Red-baiting • Red herring • Release the data • Science was wrong before • Shill gambit • Straw man • Silent Majority • Uncertainty tactic • Style over substance • Terrorism-baiting • Weasel word • What's the harm (logical fallacy) • Whataboutism • Bullshit • Logical fallacy • Banana argument • Scapegoat • How come there are still monkeys? • Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white • Ontological argument • Omnipotence paradox • Presuppositionalism • Just a joke • Countless counterfeits fallacy •

Conditional fallacies: |

Slippery slope • What's the harm (logical fallacy) • Special pleading • Conditional fallacy • On the spot fallacy • Appeal to the minority • Argumentum ad populum • Galileo gambit • Professor of nothing •

| Genetic fallacies: |

Genetic fallacy •

|  | Appeals to authority: |

Ipse dixit • Appeal to confidence • Argumentum ad populum • Argument from authority • Linking to authority • Silent Majority • Invincible authority • Appeal to celebrity • Ultracrepidarianism • Appeal to the minority • Galileo gambit • Appeal to identity • Weasel word • Professor of nothing • Euthyphro dilemma • Divine command theory •

|  | Ad hominem: |

Ad iram • Argumentum ad cellarium • Bulverism • Poisoning the well • Blaming the victim • Tu quoque • Whataboutism • Nutpicking • Jonanism • Demonization • Shill gambit • Appeal to bias • Fallacy of opposition • Association fallacy • Damning with faint praise • Pathos gambit • Appeal to identity • Argumentum ad hominem • Nazi analogies • Not an argument • Nothing to hide • Scapegoat • 地下室论证 •

| Imprecision fallacies: |

Apex fallacy • Overprecision • Cherry picking • Overgeneralization • Texas sharpshooter fallacy • False analogy • Appeal to fiction • Spotlight fallacy • Pragmatic fallacy • Selection bias • Anecdotal evidence • Category mistake • Nutpicking • Imprecision fallacy • Confounding factor • Fallacy of accident • Neyman's bias •

Valid logical methods: |

Rapoport's Rules • Negative evidence • Reductio ad absurdum •

Fallacy collections: |

SeekFind • Nizkor Project • Fallacy Files • Your Logical Fallacy Is • Logically Fallacious •