Straw man. Fallacy of establi****ng a position, claiming it is the
opponent=92s position, and then attacking it, when it is not in fact the
opponent=92s position at all. [Norman Geisler & Ronald Brooks: Come, Let
Us Reason : An Introduction to Logical Thinking. Grand Rapids, Mich. :
Baker Book House, 1990, S. 194]
Straw man. This is the fallacy of refuting a caricatured or extreme
version of somebody's argument, rather than the actual argument
they've made. Often this fallacy involves putting words into
somebody's mouth by saying they've made arguments they haven't
actually made, in which case the straw man argument is a veiled
version of argumentum ad logicam. [Glen Whitman, Associate Professor;
California State University, Northridge]
Straw man. A straw man argument is one that misrepresents a position
in order to make it appear weaker than it actually is, refutes this
misrepresentation of the position, and then concludes that the real
position has been refuted. This, of course, is a fallacy, because the
position that has been claimed to be refuted is different to that
which has actually been refuted; the real target of the argument is
untouched by it. [Tim Holt; http://www.logicalfallacies.info/]
Straw man. A Straw Man occurs when an opponent takes the original
argument of his/her adversary and then offers a close imitation, or
straw man, version of the original argument; "knocks down" the straw
man version of the argument (because the straw man, as its name
implies, is a much easier target to hit, undermine, etc.) -- and
thereby gives the appearance of having successfully countered/overcome/
answered the original argument. [Dr. Charles Ess; A Database of
Informal Fallacies; 1987]
Straw man. The author attacks an argument different from (and weaker
than) the opposition's best argument. [Stephen=92s Guide To Logical
Fallacies; http://onegoodmove.org/fallacy/welcome.htm]
Straw man. You commit the straw man fallacy whenever you attribute an
easily refuted position to your opponent, one that the opponent
wouldn't endorse, and then proceed to attack the easily refuted
position believing you have undermined the opponent's actual position.
If the misrepresentation is on purpose, then the straw man fallacy is
caused by lying. [James Fieser, Ph.D. & Bradley Dowden, Ph.D.;
California State University, Sacramento]
Straw man. Directing the argument against a claim that nobody actually
holds or that everyone agrees is very weak. [Rise Axelrod & Charles
Cooper; The Concise Guide to Writing; Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005]
Straw man. A straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on
misrepresentation of an opponent's position. [Madsen Pirie; How to Win
Every Argument: The Use and Abuse of Logic; UK: Continuum
International Publi****ng Group, 2007]
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