Straw man. Fallacy of establi****ng a position, claiming it is the
opponent's
position, and then attacking it, when it is not in fact the opponent's
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's 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]
Red herring (diverting the issue). Rather than proving the point, this
fallacy simply evades the question by changing the subject, then
proceeding
as if the point had been made. Often the other topic bears a superficial
resemblance to the one being discussed. Don't let that fool you! If no
proof
is given, there is no reason to accept the argument. [Norman Geisler &
Ronald Brooks: Come, Let Us Reason : An Introduction to Logical Thinking.
Grand Rapids, Mich. : Baker Book House, 1990]
Red herring. This means exactly what you think it means: introducing
irrelevant facts or arguments to distract from the question at hand. For
example, "The opposition claims that welfare dependency leads to higher
crime rates -- but how are poor people supposed to keep a roof over their
heads without our help?" It is perfectly valid to ask this question as
part
of the broader debate, but to pose it as a response to the argument about
welfare leading to crime is fallacious. (There is also an element of ad
misericordiam in this example.) [Glen Whitman, Associate Professor;
California State University, Northridge]
Red herring. The red herring is as much a debate tactic as it is a logical
fallacy. It is a fallacy of distraction, and is committed when a listener
attempts to divert an arguer from his argument by introducing another
topic.
This can be one of the most frustrating, and effective, fallacies to
observe. [Tim Holt; http://www.logicalfallacies.info/]
Red herring. A red herring is a deliberate attempt to change the subject
or
divert the argument from the real question at issue to some side-point;
for
instance, "Senator Jones should not be held accountable for cheating on
his
income tax. After all, there are other senators who have done far worse
things." [Dr. L. Kip Wheeler; Carson-Newman College]
Red herring. A "red herring" argument is one which distracts the audience
from the issue in question through the introduction of some irrelevancy.
This frequently occurs during debates when there is an at least implicit
topic, yet it is easy to lose track of it. By extension, it applies to any
argument in which the premisses are logically irrelevant to the
conclusion.
[http://www.fallacyfiles.org/]
Red herring. A Red Herring is a fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is
presented in order to divert attention from the original issue. The basic
idea is to "win" an argument by leading attention away from the argument
and
to another topic. [Dr. Michael C. LaBossiere; Florida A&M University]
Red herring. A red herring is a smelly fish that would distract even a
bloodhound. It is also a digression that leads the reasoner off the track
of
considering only relevant information. Example: Will the new tax in Senate
Bill 47 unfairly hurt business? One of the provisions of the bill is that
the tax is higher for large employers (fifty or more employees) as opposed
to small employers (six to forty-nine employees). To decide on the
fairness
of the bill, we must first determine whether employees who work for large
employers have better working conditions than employees who work for small
employers. Bringing up the issue of working conditions is the red herring.
[Bradley Dowden; California State University, Sacramento]
Red herring . Ignoring criticism of an argument by changing attention to
another subject. Examples: "You believe in abortion, yet you don't believe
in the right-to-die-with-dignity bill before the legislature." [Dr. J. P.
Craig; University Of Iowa]
1 Tim 6:20-21
Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely
called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered
from the faith.
2 Tim 2:16
Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more
and
more ungodly.
Ps 53:1
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and their
ways are vile; there is no one who does good.
Prov 6:16-17
There are six things the Lord hates...a lying tongue...
Prov 10:18
He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is
a
fool.
Prov 26:4
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him
yourself.
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