Think It Through: the Clearer Thinking Podcast

Episode 15: Logical and Personal Inconsistency

Apr 6, 2021

17:41

In this episode, April talks about inconsistency. While logical inconsistency is always wrong (it's known as the fallacy of inconsistency), personal inconsistency is a little more complicated. When people say one thing and then later do or say another thing, we tend to think that's a bad thing (and we are certainly right, at least sometimes). But, because consistency is so important, do we run the risk of being labeled a hypocritical flip-flopper if we should happen to come to a different conclusion than we came to previously? When is saying something different than you said before hypocrisy, and when is it justified?

Episode 15 Show Notes
A transcript of the NPR program referenced in the episode:
https://www.npr.org/2012/03/05/147980266/our-brains-betrayed-by-political-inconsistency
An explanation of logical inconsistency:
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Inconsistency
Some examples of the fallacy of inconsistency:
https://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Inconsistency.html#:~:text=A%20person%20commits%20the%20fallacy,line%20and%20say%20no%20more
Trump's personal inconsistency regarding the Access Hollywood tape:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/28/16710130/trump-says-access-hollywood-tape-fake
A Washington Post op-ed piece about President Biden and the filibuster (liberally oriented, of course, so it gives that viewpoint about the filibuster issue):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/02/perverted-rule-how-joe-biden-evolved-supporting-filibuster-trying-change-it/
A Heritage Foundation op-ed piece (which is the conservative opinion, so it helps with understanding why some people would say he's being hypocritical) about the issue of Joe Biden and the filibuster:
https://www.heritage.org/political-process/commentary/senator-joe-biden-vs-president-joe-biden-filibuster-problem
An excellent, succinct explanation of personal inconsistency and why it's not always wrong:
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/fallacies/personal_inconsistency.htm