Is This a Rhetorical Device, and What is Its Name: "It cannot be denied..."

Cafe Society
1

Well, the question in the title says it all, pretty much. I’m coming across a lot of texts that say things like “it cannot be denied,” or “these things must be considered useful”, without any reasoning, merely as a statement of fact. I wonder if this is a recognized rhetorical device (searching has failed me so far), a logical fallacy, or perhaps both?

2

That sounds to me like Ipse-dixitism.

3

“It cannot be denied that…X” is introducing a premise and so is a *good thing * in an argument. Most premises are going to be unstated.

4

It’s a fallacious way of introducing the premise, though - ‘It’s true because I said so.’

A better way of introducing a premise is ‘Let us assume to begin with that X’ or some such phrasing. That way, it’s fairly clear that if you disagree absolutely or conditionally with the premise, you can apply those reservations to the rest of the argument.

5

Isn’t it the verbal equivalent of a tautology or given?

Jane Austen liked the structure enough to kick of Pride & Prejudice with it:

6

Thanks for the replies! I’ll go with ipse-dixitism, that sounds funnest :-). It’s not a tautology, since it’s not a self-validating statement, but rather an unvalidated statement presented as truth (a tautology would be something like “green lights are green”, I should think), and I agree that it seems fairly fallacious. You’d be surprised how many academic articles start off with it, though…

7

I would have gone with “Begging the question”, but Chrisk’s answer might be more accurate.

8

It depends on how the phrase is being used. If it’s to point out something so self-evident that only nutcases or fringe dwellers would disagree, then I don’t think it’s fallacious. (Whether or not it’s needed or effective is another question.) “And while Smith’s political positions have been the subject of endless and contentious debate, it cannot be denied that the recent rally was peacefully conducted.” “Whether or not the level of rancor is a recent phenomenon, it cannot be denied that much of the current political debate in this country has been angry and divisive.”

As opposed to, “It cannot be denied that God’s hand is in all of creation.”

IOW, it’s not begging the question if something is self-evident. It’s just a rhetorical flourish, a device used for emphasis, something that sets the foundation for the discussion.