A false premise is an incorrect proposition that forms the basis of an argument. Since the premise is not correct, the conclusion may be in error.
The idea of flat Earth can spread because its followers failed to verify if the premises of the arguments are correct. If they bothered to check the truth of the premises, it is not difficult to understand that these arguments have no basis in reality.
Some examples of an incorrect premise:
- “Polaris is visible south of the Equator.”
- “It is not possible to fly over the South Pole” or “Nobody has flown crossing Antarctica over the South Pole.”
- “We see the same stars over the period of a year.”
- “The horizon always rises to eye level.”
- “We cannot observe Earth’s curvature.”
- “All flights between two locations in the southern hemisphere do a stop north of the Equator.”
- “All construction projects do not account for Earth’s curvature.”
Flat-Earthers never bothered to verify the above statements, and thus they are unaware that these arguments are incorrect. Furthermore, they seem unwilling to accept that these statements are wrong, even after repeatedly shown that they are incorrect. The reason is that blindly accepting these premises without question will allow them to channel their prejudices.
To these people, truth is secondary to the opportunity to vent their prejudices. And by questioning the premises, they feel they might lose such an opportunity.
References
- False premise – Wikipedia