I believe the Dark Side coopted “cui bono?” because it has a valid usage: those who benefit from various policies may falsify or embelish their opinions, and “cui bono?” can sometimes identify faked opinions. (For instance, why do many businesses support minimum wage hikes?) A rationalist should count a suspect opinion as weaker evidence than a non-suspect opinion.
But the dark side uses it thus: if someone benefits, the belief is wrong and the evidence in its favor can be dismissed.
Example: “Who benefits from the story of the Holocaust? Israel. The Holocaust raises sympathy for Jews worldwide, and sympathizing voters and politicians in the United States and Europe enable Israel’s continued existence.”
This is 1) Not the rationalist use of “cui bono” and 2) COMPLETELY INSANE. Holocaust deniers use “cui bono?” to question if the Holocaust actually happened. They figure that the fact someone benefits is enough to support a worldwide, 65-year long conspiracy theory. No matter how much suspicious motives may make us weary of someone, the independent lines of evidence leading to the historical event of the Holocaust blow them out of the water. “Cui bono?” is so weak in comparison that it can be completely ignored when estimating the likelihood of “The Holocaust happened.”
This usage can probably be categorized as a subset of all Type M arguments.
“Cui bono?” Who benefits?
I believe the Dark Side coopted “cui bono?” because it has a valid usage: those who benefit from various policies may falsify or embelish their opinions, and “cui bono?” can sometimes identify faked opinions. (For instance, why do many businesses support minimum wage hikes?) A rationalist should count a suspect opinion as weaker evidence than a non-suspect opinion.
But the dark side uses it thus: if someone benefits, the belief is wrong and the evidence in its favor can be dismissed.
Example: “Who benefits from the story of the Holocaust? Israel. The Holocaust raises sympathy for Jews worldwide, and sympathizing voters and politicians in the United States and Europe enable Israel’s continued existence.”
This is 1) Not the rationalist use of “cui bono” and 2) COMPLETELY INSANE. Holocaust deniers use “cui bono?” to question if the Holocaust actually happened. They figure that the fact someone benefits is enough to support a worldwide, 65-year long conspiracy theory. No matter how much suspicious motives may make us weary of someone, the independent lines of evidence leading to the historical event of the Holocaust blow them out of the water. “Cui bono?” is so weak in comparison that it can be completely ignored when estimating the likelihood of “The Holocaust happened.”
This usage can probably be categorized as a subset of all Type M arguments.