Tu quoque
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- For the historical quotation "Tu quoque, Brute, fili mi", see Marcus Junius Brutus
Tu quoque (Latin for "You, too" or "You, also") is a line of one's defensive argument based on the concept that the adversary party also engages (or has engaged in the past) in the act for which one is accused by that party. This argumentative move works by showing that a criticism or objection applies equally to the person making it. It can be considered an ad hominem argument, since it focuses on the opposite party itself, rather than its positions.
An example of its use in court was in the Nuremberg Trials, where the defendants attempted to introduce a tu quoque argument, in claiming that the Allies too had committed crimes similar to those of which the Nazi regime was accused. (This line of defense was eventually not allowed by the court's judges.)
[edit] You-too version
This form of the argument is as follows:
- A makes criticism P.
- A is also guilty of P.
- Therefore, P is dismissed.
This is an instance of the two wrongs make a right fallacy.
Example:
- "He cannot accuse me of libel because he was just successfully sued for libel."
[edit] Inconsistency version
This form of the argument is as follows:
- A makes claim P.
- A has also made claims which are inconsistent with P.
- Therefore, P is false (or is dismissed).
If the conclusion is that "P is false", then this is a logical fallacy because the conclusion that P is false does not follow from the premises; even if A has made past claims which are inconsistent with P, it does not necessarily prove that P is either true or false. [After all, A might have changed his/her mind.]
Example:
- "You say airplanes are able to fly because of the laws of physics, but this is false because twenty years ago you also said airplanes fly because of magic."
- "US Democrats say that we shouldn't participate in war in Iraq, but they supported it after 9/11."
- "US Republicans say that CIA intelligence is faulty, but they relied on it when we sent troops to Iraq."
