strawman

A straw man fallacy (sometimes written as strawman) is the informal fallacy of refuting an argument different from the one actually under discussion, while not recognizing or acknowledging the distinction. One who engages in this fallacy is said to be "attacking a straw man".

The typical straw man argument creates the illusion of having refuted or defeated an opponent's proposition through the covert replacement of it with a different proposition (i.e., "stand up a straw man") and the subsequent refutation of that false argument ("knock down a straw man"), instead of the opponent's proposition. Straw man arguments have been used throughout history in polemical debate, particularly regarding highly charged emotional subjects.

Straw man tactics in the United Kingdom may also be known as an Aunt Sally, after a pub game of the same name, where patrons throw sticks or battens at a post to knock off a skittle balanced on top.

Overview

The straw man fallacy occurs in the following pattern of argument:

# ''Person 1'' asserts proposition ''X''.
# ''Person 2'' argues against a superficially similar proposition ''Y'', as though an argument against ''Y'' were an argument against ''X''.

This reasoning is a fallacy of relevance: it fails to address the proposition in question by misrepresenting the opposing position.

For example:
* Quoting an opponent's words out of context—i.e., choosing quotations that misrepresent the opponent's intentions (see fallacy of quoting out of context).
* Presenting someone who defends a position poorly as ''the'' defender, then denying that person's arguments—thus giving the appearance that ''every'' upholder of that position (and thus the position itself) has been defeated.
* Oversimplifying an opponent's argument, then attacking this oversimplified version.
* Exaggerating (sometimes grossly) an opponent's argument, then attacking this exaggerated version.

Contemporary revisions

In 2006, Robert Talisse and Scott Aikin expanded the application and use of the straw man fallacy beyond that of previous rhetorical scholars, arguing that the straw man fallacy can take two forms: the original form that misrepresents the opponent's position, which they call the ''representative form''; and a new form they call the ''selection form''.

The selection form focuses on a partial and weaker (and easier to refute) representation of the opponent's position. Then the easier refutation of this weaker position is claimed to refute the opponent's complete position. They point out the similarity of the selection form to the fallacy of hasty generalization, in which the refutation of an opposing position that is weaker than the opponent's is claimed as a refutation of all opposing arguments. Because they have found significantly increased use of the selection form in modern political argumentation, they view its identification as an important new tool for the improvement of public discourse.

Aikin and Casey expanded on this model in 2010, introducing a third form. Referring to the "representative form" as the classic ''straw man'', and the "selection form" as the ''weak man'', the third form is called the ''hollow man''. A hollow man argument is one that is a complete fabrication, where both the viewpoint and the opponent expressing it do not in fact exist, or at the very least the arguer has never encountered them. Such arguments frequently take the form of vague phrasing such as "some say," "someone out there thinks" or similar weasel words, or it might attribute a non-existent argument to a broad movement in general, rather than an individual or organization.

Nutpicking

A variation on the selection form, or "weak man" argument, that combines with an ad hominem and fallacy of composition is ''nutpicking'' (or ''nut picking''), a neologism coined by Kevin Drum. A combination of "nut" (i.e., insane person) and "cherry picking", as well as a play on the word "nitpicking," nut picking refers to intentionally seeking out extremely fringe, non-representative statements from or members of an opposing group and parading these as evidence of that entire group's incompetence or irrationality.

Steelmanning

A ''steel man argument'' (or ''steelmanning'') is the opposite of a straw man argument. Steelmanning is the practice of applying the rhetorical principle of charity through addressing the strongest form of the other person's argument, even if it is not the one they explicitly presented. Creating the strongest form of the opponent's argument may involve removing flawed assumptions that could be easily refuted or developing the strongest points which counter one's own position. Developing counters to steel man arguments may produce a stronger argument for one's own position.

Examples

In a 1977 appeal of a U.S. bank robbery conviction, a prosecuting attorney said in his oral argument: "I submit to you that if you can't take this evidence and find these defendants guilty on this evidence then we might as well open all the banks and say, 'Come on and get the money, boys,' because we'll never be able to convict them." This was a straw man designed to alarm the appellate judges; the chance that the precedent set by one case would literally make it impossible to convict bank robbers is remote.

Another example of a strawman argument is U.S. president Richard Nixon's 1952 "Checkers speech". When campaigning for vice president in 1952, Nixon was accused of having illegally appropriated $18,000 in campaign funds for his personal use. In a televised response, based on Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fala speech, he spoke about another gift, a dog he had been given by a supporter:

This was a straw man response; his critics had never criticized the dog as a gift or suggested he return it. This argument was successful at distracting many people from the funds and portraying his critics as nitpicking and heartless. Nixon received an outpouring of public support and remained on the ticket. He and Eisenhower were later elected.

Christopher Tindale presents, as an example, the following passage from a draft of a bill (HCR 74) considered by the Louisiana State Legislature in 2001:

Tindale comments that "the portrait painted of Darwinian ideology is a caricature, one not borne out by any objective survey of the works cited." The fact that similar misrepresentations of Darwinian thinking have been used to justify and approve racist practices is beside the point: the position that the legislation is attacking and dismissing is a straw man. In subsequent debate, this error was recognized, and the eventual bill omitted all mention of Darwin and Darwinist ideology. Darwin passionately opposed slavery and worked to intellectually confront the notions of "scientific racism" that were used to justify it.

Throughout the 20th century, and also in the 21st century thus far, there have been innumerable instances when right-wing political leaders and commentators used communism as a straw man while denouncing the proposals of centrists, moderate liberals, or even moderate conservatives. They sought to portray valid criticism of their own right-wing policies as expressions of communist ideology when in reality, most of the critics in question were not even socialists, much less communists. The use of communism as a straw man was a common and effective (though fallacious) talking point by conservative leaders in many western countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and most especially the United States.

Etymology

As a fallacy, the identification and name of straw man arguments are of relatively recent date, although Aristotle makes remarks that suggest a similar concern. Isaac Watts writes in his ''Logick'' (1724): "They dress up the opinion of their adversary as they please, and ascribe sentiments to him which he doth not acknowledge; and when they have with a great deal of pomp attacked and confounded these images if straw of their own making, they triumph over their adversary as though they had utterly confuted his opinion."

Douglas N. Walton identified "the first inclusion of it we can find in a textbook as an informal fallacy" in Stuart Chase's ''Guides to Straight Thinking'' from 1956 (p. 40). Douglas Walton,
The straw man fallacy
. In ''Logic and Argumentation'', eds. Johan van Bentham, Frans H. van Eemeren, Rob Grootendorst and Frank Veltman. Amsterdam, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, North-Holland, 1996. pp. 115–128 By contrast, Hamblin's classic text ''Fallacies'' (1970) neither mentions it as a distinct type, nor even as a historical term.

The term's origins are a matter of debate, though the usage of the term in rhetoric suggests a human figure made of straw that is easy to knock down or destroy—such as a military training dummy, scarecrow, or effigy. A common but false etymology is that it refers to men who stood outside courthouses with a straw in their shoe to signal their willingness to be a false witness. The ''Online Etymology Dictionary'' states that the term "man of straw" can be traced back to 1620 as "an easily refuted imaginary opponent in an argument."

Related usage

Reverend William Harrison, in ''A Description of England'' (1577), complained that when men lived in houses of willow they were men of oak, but now they lived in houses of oak and had become men of willow and "a great manie altogither of straw, which is a sore alteration .e. a sad change. The phrase 'men of straw' appears to refer to pampered softness and a lack of character, rather than the modern meaning.

Martin Luther blames his opponents for misrepresenting his arguments in his work '' On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church'' (1520):

In the quote, he responds to arguments of the Roman Catholic Church and clergy attempting to delegitimize his criticisms, specifically on the correct way to serve the Eucharist. The church claimed Martin Luther is arguing against serving the Eucharist according to one type of serving practice; Martin Luther states he never asserted that in his criticisms towards them and in fact they themselves are making this argument. Luther's Latin text does not use the phrase "man of straw", but it is used in a widespread early 20th century English translation of his work, the Philadelphia Edition.Luther, M. et al. (1915–1943) ''Works of Martin Luther – With Introduction and Notes''. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press

See also

References

External links

Straw Man
at Fallacy Check, wit
examples


at the Fallacy Files


more examples of straw man arguments

Nut picking
at Fallacy Check, wit
examples

{{Fallacies

16th-century neologisms
Barriers to critical thinking
Error
Martin Luther
Political metaphors referring to people
Relevance fallacies