(09-10-2015, 08:23 PM)Aaron Wrote: For reference if all this sounds circular (which I'm pretty sure it does)
If everyone is skilled, no one is skilled falls under the "Heroes All" category of fallacies. Which yes, there are fallacy categories.
The Heroes, All fallacy is actually just a form of this statement that is constructed in order to argue against the opposite of what this statement says.
"Heroes All (also Everybody's a Winner). A contemporary fallacy that everyone is above average or extraordinary. A corrupted argument from pathos (not wanting anyone to lose or to feel bad). Thus, every member of the Armed Services, past or present, is a national hero, every student who competes in the Science Fair wins a ribbon or trophy, and every racer is awarded a winner's tee shirt. This corruption of the argument from pathos, much ridiculed by American comedian Garrison Keeler, ignores the fact that if everyone wins nobody wins, and if everyone's a hero nobody's a hero. The logical result of this fallacy is that, as author Alice Childress writes, "a hero ain't nothing but a sandwich." See also "Soldiers' Honor."  The counterpart of this is the postmodern fallacy of "Hero-Busting," under which, since nobody in this world is perfect, there are not and never have been any heroes: Washington and Jefferson held slaves, Lincoln was a racist, Martin Luther King Jr. had an eye for women, the Mahatma drank his own urine (ugh!), the Pope is wrong on women's ordination, Mother Teresa was wrong on just about everything, etc., etc. "
source
If you look closely, you'll actually see the phrase we're arguing is used to define the argument itself. It's not a fallacy at all.
