Name The Trait Debunked

Ask Yourself NTT Argument Debunked

“Name the Trait” is not an actual argument, but a rebuttal tactic against the special pleading argument that humans are unique in the animal world. For any claimed rationale for humans to be treated uniquely, the Vegan site correctly points out this is an analog gradated feature, and humans are NOT unique.

The original justification of human uniqueness presumes that humans are valid subjects of moral consideration, and all humans are basically equal in this respect.

Name The Trait was formulated by the vegan Youtuber Ask Yourself. NTT seeks to establish veganism from a personal belief in human moral value, similar to the well known argument from marginal cases. Some street activists claim to have found the argument effective, when presented informally. However as we will see in this article, it is logically invalid, and Ask Yourself’s attempts to make it valid have led to an alternative version of the argument that is question-begging or that achieves possible validity only by the Principle of Explosion due to an internal contradiction.

Philosophical Vegan Forum

(P1) sentient humans are of moral value
(P2) for all sentient nonhuman animals there exists a counterpart to a sentient human that has moral value and has all the same traits as a sentient nonhuman animal
(P3) All things with the same traits are the same thing.
Therefore Animals are of moral value

Alternatively:

P1) If your view affirms a given human is trait-equalizable to a given nonhuman animal while retaining moral value, then your view can only deny the given nonhuman animal has moral value on pain of P∧~P.

P2) Your view affirms a given human is trait-equalizable to a given nonhuman animal while retaining moral value.

C) Therefore, your view can only deny the given nonhuman animal has moral value on pain of P∧~P

(‘Trait-equalizability’ is defined as something like, “If human moral value can be made identical to animal moral value and the result is that humans still have moral value, that reveals that animals had moral value all along”).

It is feasible to address the NTT contention and safeguard its enticing power by adding a reason that rejects twofold guidelines and changing the principal reason to require human virtue (or another ethical thought) to be founded on a quality. This makes NTT substantial, and permits it to be introduced similarly as it was expected.

NTT, regardless of any explicit statement, is used to show the absurdity of non-vegan positions thus elevating the status of the vegan position. However, this seems to run on a particular framing of moral conversations that can be objected to.

Ask Yourself Destroyed By Jack Angstreich In Name The Trait Debate

In the video linked above Jack Angstreich destroys Ask Yourself in a Name The Trait debate. Jack Angstreich gets annoyed with the dishonesty and starts yelling. in the AY Discord server. NTT argument is supposed to be an argument for veganism. Ask Yourself gets owned by Angstreich and pretends he doesn’t understand what is being said because he doesn’t know how to respond to the refutation.