Tu Quoque
But You’re Doing It.
What is Tu Quoque?
Accusing the person who makes a claim to be hypocritical to invalidate their claim.
Business Application
In a perfect world, we’d always follow our own advice with unwavering persistence. But the world, and its inhabitants, are not perfect. They do not make the claims any less true.
Example 1
Argument -“If you don’t take care of your health, it will affect your work.”
Fallacy -You go out drinking with clients all the time and eat junk food every day!
Why This is a Fallacy
Hypocrisy does not invalidate the truthfulness of a claim. Leading by example is a helpful method of influence but does not make an assertion any more true.
Example 2
“If you’re such a great sales consultant, why didn’t you use X rebuttal you wrote an entire article about?”
Why This is a Fallacy
Good advice is not always heeded 100% of the time. It does not make the advice any less powerful.
