Logical fallacy #8: The Straw Man

This is basically simplifying or changing someone’s argument in order to make it easier to attack. “But I never said that!” you might respond, when someone has just created a straw man.

A straw man fallacy is a kind of logical fallacy that occurs when a person deliberately distorts their opponent’s argument and proceeds to argue against that distortion instead of the actual position.

In the straw man fallacy, the arguer sets up a weak version of the opponent’s position and tries to score points by knocking it down. 

Example A:

A: “We should divert more federal funding to social programs as those help people manage their expenses and contribute to the economy.”

B: “That is completely ridiculous! We can’t just give money to people who don’t work, that would make them lazy and greedy.”

B’s response is a straw man fallacy. It’s a straw man fallacy because A didn’t say that we should give free money to people who don’t work. They merely stated that more federal funds should be diverted to social programs, many of which go to people who do, in fact, work. B begins by giving a straw man of A’s position and then proceeds to argue against that position as if it’s what A believes. 

Instead of arguing against the actual position, B argues against a caricature of A’s argument. Straw man fallacies occur when a person misrepresents their opponent’s position or argument and argues against that caricature instead of the actual position. Straw man arguments give the illusion of refuting an argument by attacking a figment of reasoning rather than the actual reasoning.

 

• Leaving out a key premise or part of your opponent’s argument
• Oversimplifying or exaggerating features of the argument
• Focusing only on a single aspect of the argument
• Making up claims that your opponent did not say
• Equivocating on the meaning of key terms in the argument

(https://www.developgoodhabits.com/straw-man/)

Example B: Pennélope writes,

For this fallacy, my example will consist of a Tiktok trend (sorry in advance). The trend consists of person A, in this case the girlfriend, and person B is the boyfriend. The dialogue goes a little like this:

A: Hey, would you still date me if I was a worm?

B: No.

A: Really, so our relationship means nothing to you? Obviously you don't love me anymore.

Clearly, this is an example of the straw man fallacy since the boyfriend's answer to her question makes no reference to her final statement. Dissecting the dialogue, the reader can quickly realize the girlfriend instead twisted his answer and overexaggerated it. Obviously no human would date a worm, it's unrealistic and not possible. Yet, this doesn't mean the boyfriend loves the girl any less.  

Tip: Be charitable to your opponents. State their arguments as strongly, accurately, and sympathetically as possible. If you can knock down even the best version of an opponent’s argument, then you’ve really accomplished something.

(Credit: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)