Straw man
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[[Logical fallacy]] in which one person deliberately misrepresents the position of another. The analogy is that the person making the argument is setting up a scarecrow that looks like his opponent, but is easy to knock down and will not put up a fight. | [[Logical fallacy]] in which one person deliberately misrepresents the position of another. The analogy is that the person making the argument is setting up a scarecrow that looks like his opponent, but is easy to knock down and will not put up a fight. | ||
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| + | ==Examples== | ||
| + | * "Abortion advocates want to kill babies. This is monstrous and must be stopped." (In fact, the vast majority of pro-choice advocates would like for there to be no abortions, but recognize that sometimes, an abortion is the lesser evil in a given situation.) | ||
| + | * "[[Atheist]]s say that [[the Bible]] isn't true. But archeologists have found many of the cities mentioned in the Bible, so clearly the atheists are wrong." (In fact, no reasonably informed atheist believes that ''nothing'' in the Bible is true.) | ||
[[Category: Logical fallacies]] | [[Category: Logical fallacies]] | ||
Revision as of 15:44, 30 July 2006
Logical fallacy in which one person deliberately misrepresents the position of another. The analogy is that the person making the argument is setting up a scarecrow that looks like his opponent, but is easy to knock down and will not put up a fight.
Examples
- "Abortion advocates want to kill babies. This is monstrous and must be stopped." (In fact, the vast majority of pro-choice advocates would like for there to be no abortions, but recognize that sometimes, an abortion is the lesser evil in a given situation.)
- "Atheists say that the Bible isn't true. But archeologists have found many of the cities mentioned in the Bible, so clearly the atheists are wrong." (In fact, no reasonably informed atheist believes that nothing in the Bible is true.)
