Appeal to Authority Fallacy
Insisting a claim is true because a valid authority said so, with no other supporting evidence.
Aren't experts reliable?
Expertise raises the prior on a claim, but it does not establish truth. Authorities can be wrong, biased, or speaking outside their domain.
A famous physicist said quantum mechanics proves consciousness creates reality, so it must be true.
Note
Appeals to authority are not always fallacious, but they become dangerous when an entire argument rests on a single person’s opinion, especially outside their expertise. Source: Hubspot
Related
- Cognitive Bias
- Rhetoric (ethos)