Sunday, March 7, 2010

Common ways people invalidate their arguments

Here is quick list of some common fallacies, these three represent the bulk of what I hear in religious and political discussions.

Straw man: Your opponent will build an imaginary form of your argument, and then beat the stuffing out of it; hoping nobody will notice that the real argument has not been addressed.
Example: "So you believe in Evolution huh? So you believe we came about through random chance? Do you realize how silly that is!" (Evolution is not a theory of chance, but some will straw man that it is.)

Ad Hominem: Basically a name calling tactic, you smear the other speaker while not addressing their argument.
Example: "So you believe in the right to bare arms? You stupid gun nut."

Red Herring: They just try to change the subject on you.
Example: "Your god doesn't exist, why do you keep nagging me about it?" "Wow, why do you hate god?" (The position was that a god doesn't exist, not expressing hate to it.)

... More to come!

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