Dogmatism
Miranda Craft
Definition
The tendency to lay down principles as
incontrovertibly true, without
consideration of evidence or the
opinions of others.
Making a claim
without just
verification.
Examples
A major factor that would play into the
fallacy dogmatism would be religion.
Believing in God because the bible says so
would be an example of this because it relies
on faith instead of because it is not reliable
evidence.
Examples
Tarrot Cards: Along with religion, tarrot cards
would be believing in something without just
verification. People heed the fortune tellers’
word without reason, or evidence that they
might be right in any way.
Susanna: Aye, sir, he have been searchin’ his
books since he left you, sir. But he bid me tell
you, that you might look to unnatural things
for the cause of it.
Act I
Page 170
Parris: (his eyes going wide) No – no.
There be no unnatural cause here. Tell
him I have sent for Reverend Hale of
Beverly, and Mr. Hale will surely confirm
that. Let him look to medicine and put
out all thought of unnatural causes here.
There be none.
Parris was showing
dogmatism because
he was banishing the
thought of unnatural causes
without just reasoning. He was not
giving them any reason to believe there
was no unnatural things happening.
Hale: (with a tasty love of intellectual pursuit)
Here is all the invisible world, caught, defined, and
calculated. In these books the Devil stands stripped
of all his brute disguises. Here are all your familiar spirits –Page 185
your incubi and succubi; your witches that go by land, by air,
and by sea; your wizards of the night and of the day. Have
no dear now – we shall find him out if he has come
among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he
has shown his face!
Act I
Hale was showing
dogmatism because he
was throwing the statement
that he will surely get rid of all the
demons in the town, without showing
evidence that he will. He never presents
proper record of the towns he has
performed his exorcisms, he doesn’t provide
any credibility at all.
Abigail: Don’t lie! She comes to me while I
sleep; she’s always making me dream
corruptions!
Act I
Page 187
Tituba: Why you say that, Abby?
Abigail: Sometimes I wake and find myself
standing in the open doorway and not a stitch
on my body! I always hear her laughing in my
sleep. I hear her singing her Barbados songs
and tempting me with –
Abigail was
showing dogmatism
because she was accusing
Tituba of bewitching her
without proper evidence. Of
course, not any of the accusations had
probable reasoning along with them, but
Abigail had accused so many people and the
authorities were believing all of it.
Elizabeth: I cannot think to the Devil may own a
woman’s soul, Mr. Hale, when she keeps an
upright way, as I have. I am a good woman, I
know it; and if you believe I may do only good
work in the world, and yet be secretly bound to
Satan, then I must tell you, sir, do not believe it.
Act 2
Page 200
Hale: But, woman, you do believe
there are witches in –
Elizabeth was
showing dogmatism
because she was making
the claim that there are no
witches without just verification.
She was simply stating that she
wasn’t a witch, a statement of which she
didn’t give evidence to either.
Elizabeth: If you think that I am
one, then I say there are none.
Danforth: And do you know that near to four
hundred are in the jails from Marblehead to
Lynn, and upon my signature?
Act 4
Page 210
Francis: I –
Danforth: And seventy-two condemned
to hang by that signature?
•••••••••••••
Danforth: Now, Mr. Proctor, before I decide
whether I will hear you or not, it is
Danforth was
my duty to tell you this. We
showing dogmatism
burn a hot fire here; it
because he was making
melts down all
claims that he is the head of the
concealment.
court without validity. He was
making those statements loosely,
because he did not expect anyone to rise
over him.
Danforth: I am sure of it, Marshal. Now,
What deposition do you have for us, Mr.
Proctor? And I beg you be clear, open as the
sky, and honest.
Act 4
Page 212
Proctor: I am no lawyer, so I’ll –
Danforth: The pure in heart need no lawyers.
Proceed as you will.
Danforth is
exhibiting dogmatism
here by creating a sense of
blame on Proctor to give his
honest deposition of what had
happened. He is putting the spotlight
on Mr. Proctor so he does not have to have
any credibility on why his is asserting his
authority.
Abigail: Why, this – this – is a
base question, sir.
Danforth: Child, I would have you consider it –
Act 4
Page 215
Abigail: I have been hurt, Mr. Danforth; I have
seen my blood runnin’ out! I have been near
to murdered every day because I done my
duty pointing out the Devil’s people – and this
is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied,
questioned like a –
Abigail is showing
dogmatism here when
she changes Danforth’s
subject that he is bringing up to
make things go her way. She is
bringing up a factor that would make her
the victim in the situation and she makes
these claims without cause or evidence.
Works Cited
•A Dogmatic Boss. Dogmatic. FreeTestPrep. n.d. Web. 16
February 2012.
•Tindall, Mark. “The Spirit of Dogmatism.” Blogspot. 17
September 2011. Web. 16 February 2012.
•Harris, Sam. “Dogmatism.” tumblr. 24 October 2011. Web. 16
February 2012.
•Perrott, Ken. “Dogmatism of the “supernatural”.” Open
Parachute. Wordpress. 31 December 2008. Weblog. 16
February 2012.