The Straw Man Fallacy
And how to not be annoying in arguments (Part I)
Friend: Are we getting ramen or pizza tonight?
Me: Let’s get ramen!
Friend: WHY DO YOU HATE ITALIANS?
Me: ???????
Needless to say, the friend is now an acquaintance.
While this example was in a casual setting, people constantly use such arguments in extremely serious political debates (not limited to a certain presidential debate that happened just over a week ago).
What’s the straw man fallacy?
A straw man is a form of argument and an informal fallacy of having the impression of refuting an argument, while the proper idea of argument under discussion was not addressed or properly refuted.
Such an argument, therefore, does not address the opponent’s actual proposition but instead refutes a superficially similar proposition. It end up creating a false impression that the original proposition has been answered. The person is then said to be attacking a ‘straw man’, the idea being that something made of straw can be easily knocked down.
Examples:
A: We should increase the use of public transport because cars emit greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
B: So according to you, humans should just stop using cars completely and instead walk from place to place, regardless of how far the destination is.
In this example, B’s response clearly distorts the claim made by the first person. Person A is advocating for increased public transport, and never for a complete elimination of cars or even for walking between two places. B is responding to a fallacious misrepresentation of person A’s position.
Another example is:
TA: The homework assignment was harder than we thought, so I think we should give a few extra points to students who completed it.
Professor: That’s a terrible idea. If we give everyone a perfect score for no reason, students won’t bother working hard in the future.
Straw man arguments could be by exaggerating an opponent’s proposition (as in the case above), oversimplifying it, or even by quoting an opponent’s words out of context. Another common way is by choosing a person who defending a position poorly, countering that person’s arguments — thereby giving the appearance that every upholder of that position (and thus the position itself).
Rando: Vegans say animals are sentient and intelligent but cows can’t use computers so veganism is a trash concept.
Sometimes, arguments like these want to make you cover a person’s head in bubble wrap and then whack it with a baseball bat.
But please don’t do that. Here are some more civilized approaches:
What to do when someone uses a straw man argument against you
In some cases, straw man arguments are used unintentionally, and may arise because of a genuine misunderstanding of the proposition. But in any case, a few possible courses of action are to:
- Ignore the straw man entirely, and continue elaborating on your original point to get the discussion back on track.
- Point out the a straw man argument, and ask them for an explanation of how the two propositions are similar.
- Accept the straw man, and defend against it.
- Leave the room, if it gets too annoying. 9000 IQ plays being made here — there can’t be a straw man if there is no man.
Using a straw man argument yourself
You have to remember that this line of reasoning is flawed in its very nature, and using it might raise some moral concerns. Using straw mans can definitely be persuasive in certain cases, especially if the viewers are not predisposed to fact-checking or examining the logical fallacies in arguments, aka if the audience is passive. Regardless, the strawman technique can backfire and raise some serious questions on your debating and reasoning skills. And in general, it’s kind of a shady thing to do.
If you’re prone to using them unconsciously, try to recapitulate the opponent’s proposition before countering it, and ask for their confirmation whether what you said matches their stance. This way, you can make sure that your arguments are directly addressing the opponent’s main points and not some distorted version of them. In a not-so-surprising move from the English language, this approach is sometimes called the steel man.
More Stuff to check out
- Yourdictionary : Other examples of the straw man fallacy
- Britannica: Straw men objections to veganism and responses
- A clip from the movie ‘Thank You for Smoking’ (which apparently has Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, and Elon Musk as Executive Producers):
- A meme:
This article is the first of a 2-part series: Check the next one by clicking here:
1. The Straw Man Fallacy
2. The Ad Hominem Fallacy
