# Special pleading

*Also called: Unprincipled exception*

- **Cluster:** Distraction and distortion — Moving the argument somewhere easier to win
- **Page:** https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/special-pleading/
- **In Arabic:** https://fallacy.wiki/ar/fallacy/special-pleading.md
- **Licence:** CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

## What it is

Claiming an exemption from a rule without giving a principled reason for the exemption.

## In the wild

> The rule applies to everyone except my case.

## How to answer it

Ask for the principle behind the exception and test it on someone else's case.

## Origin and naming

From legal 'pleading' — arguing one's case. Special pleading is pleading for your own case to be treated specially: accepting the rule in general while quietly exempting yourself, without a reason that would convince anyone else.

## More places it shows up

- Everyone's internet use at work is monitored, says the director — but his own browsing must stay private for 'strategic reasons he can't disclose'.
- A diet coach insists calories explain all weight gain, except her own plateau, which is caused by stress hormones.
- A columnist demands every public official release their tax returns, but calls requests for his own returns 'harassment with a political agenda'.
- Parents enforce a strict no-phone-at-dinner rule, except for dad's phone, because his calls are important.

## How to spot it

- Notice when the exception's justification is a quality only the speaker claims to have — importance, sensitivity, special circumstances.
- Notice when the same justification, offered by anyone else, would be laughed off.
- Notice when asking 'so the rule applies to whom, then?' narrows it to an audience of one.

## Nearby

- [Ad hoc rescue](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/ad-hoc-rescue.md)
- [No true Scotsman](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/no-true-scotsman.md)
- [Appeal to pity](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/pity.md)
- [Kettle logic](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/kettle-logic.md)

## Read more

- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_pleading)

---

From fallacy.wiki — a bilingual field guide to 91 logical fallacies, published by phi holdings. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse freely with attribution to fallacy.wiki.