Two wrongs don't make a right
In rhetoric and ethics, "two wrongs don't make a right" and "two wrongs make a right" are phrases that denote philosophical norms. "Two wrongs make a right" has been considered as a fallacy of relevance, in which an allegation of wrongdoing is countered with a similar allegation. Its antithesis, "two wrongs don't make a right", is a proverb used to rebuke or renounce wrongful conduct as a response to another's transgression. "Two wrongs make a right" is considered "one of the most common fallacies in Western philosophy". History The phrase "two wrongs infer one right" appears in a poem dated to 1734, published in The London Magazine. This is an informal fallacy that occurs when assuming that, if one wrong is committed, then another wrong will cancel it out. Examples Speaker A: You shouldn't embezzle from your employer. It's against the law. Speaker B: My employer cheats on their taxes. That's against the law, too! If Speaker B believes in the maxim "the law should be followed," then their unstated premise is that breaking the law (or the wrong) is justified, as long as the other party also does so. Yet, if Speaker B believes the maxim "it is acceptable