Tu quoque

This article is about the logical fallacy. For the historical quotation "Tu quoque, Brute, fili mi", see Et tu, Brute?. For the play by John Cooke, see Greene's Tu Quoque.

A case of Tu quoque: "By Jove, what extraordinary headgear you women do wear!"—ironic reference in Punch

Tu quoque (pron.: /tuːˈkwoʊkwiː/), (Latin for "you, too" or "you, also") or the appeal to hypocrisy, is a logical fallacy that attempts to discredit the opponent's position by asserting the opponent's failure to act consistently in accordance with that position; it attempts to show that a criticism or objection applies equally to the person making it. This dismisses someone's point of view based on criticism of the person's inconsistency, and not the position presented, whereas a person's inconsistency should not discredit their position. Thus, it is a form of the ad hominem argument. To clarify, although the person being attacked might indeed be acting inconsistently or hypocritically, this does not invalidate their argument.

Legal aspects

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia heard several cases in which the accused tried to justify their crimes by insisting that the opposing side had also committed such crimes. The tribunal rejected this argument, holding that tu quoque, from the basis of international humanitarian law, is completely irrelevant.

See also

• Pot calling the kettle black
• And you are lynching Negroes
• Unclean hands
• Whataboutism