{"id":1823,"date":"2013-04-24T09:53:30","date_gmt":"2013-04-24T15:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/?p=1823"},"modified":"2013-04-24T09:53:30","modified_gmt":"2013-04-24T15:53:30","slug":"logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html","title":{"rendered":"Logical Fallacy of the Day: The Straw-man"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In an effort to become a better writer, I\u2019m trying to think critically about the way I construct my arguments. Ultimately the stronger argument will not always win; sophistry often wins out over logic. Still I want to write and speak with integrity and let the chips fall in terms of wins and losses. I\u2019m trying to catch myself in the act as I write an article, a sermon, or a blog post, and force myself to always play fair. One of the ways I\u2019m doing this is to learn more about logic and how I abuse it constantly.<\/p>\n

So in that spirit, here is today\u2019s logical fallacy of the day: The Straw-man Argument<\/p>\n

The Straw-man is when you misrepresent another\u2019s argument in order to tear it to shreds. For a great example watchMartin Bashir\u2019s interview with Rob Bell<\/a>. He straw-mans the crap out of Bell\u2019s argument, taking accusatory tones throughout and completely ignoring everything Bell says in defense of his argument. From this clip I learn that voice inflection is an important part of the straw-man arsenal. Condescending tone can be a straw-man\u2019s best friend. I\u2019ve got to watch myself on that one.<\/p>\n

The straw-man fallacy is especially easy to do in verbal argument when people are expected to react to your ideas on the fly. In a sound-byte culture, the straw-man wins most arguments. Straw-man arguments are usually fairly plausible at first blush. That\u2019s why they work so well.\u00a0Think about it. In a two-minute segment, who has time to force the other side to play fair? If they attack you with a straw-man argument and you respond to the\u00a0inaccuracies, you\u2019ll never have the time to make your own argument fairly. You would think the fact that nearly everything said publicly is now recorded or filmed and posted online would put more pressure on the\u00a0straw-man\u00a0argument. But more video usually means shorter segments. The long form argument built on a straw-man just feels wrong; it feels off; and it hardly ever wins the day.<\/p>\n

Playing fair with another person\u2019s position will always earn you credibility when it comes time to make the opposing argument. The straw-man lowers the entire level of debate.<\/p>\n

Lately I have caught myself exaggerating another\u2019s position, or leaving out certain facts that might help bolster the other side of the argument. I\u2019ve found that when I misrepresent another person\u2019s position it is usually a case of either: 1) failing to understand their argument fully. 2) Trusting an expert who isn\u2019t giving all the evidence, or 3) I\u2019m emotional about what I\u2019m arguing and use a logical fallacy in order to win.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m working on two things when I write: 1) spot the straw-man. I\u2019m watching for this fallacy right now, paying attention to when I hear it, and when I\u2019m tempted to use it. It can be very subtle, especially in my own writing. 2) I\u2019m working hard at constructing the opposition\u2019s best case. If I mean to critique something, then I need to make sure I can make their best argument for them. Only then can I make my best argument in the other direction. I\u2019m sure this is stuff some people learned well in debate or law school, but I had neither of those experiences.<\/p>\n

If you see a good logical fallacy, post it here!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an effort to become a better writer, I\u2019m trying to think critically about the way I construct my arguments. Ultimately the stronger argument will not always win; sophistry often wins out over logic. Still I want to write and speak with integrity and let the chips fall in terms of wins and losses. I\u2019m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[556,558,447,557],"class_list":["post-1823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-logical-fallacy-of-the-day","tag-martin-bashir","tag-rob-bell","tag-straw-man"],"yoast_head":"\nLogical Fallacy of the Day: The Straw-man<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In an effort to become a better writer, I'm trying to think critically about the way I construct my arguments. Ultimately the stronger argument will not\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Logical Fallacy of the Day: The Straw-man\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In an effort to become a better writer, I'm trying to think critically about the way I construct my arguments. Ultimately the stronger argument will not\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Paperback Theology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=654515438\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-04-24T15:53:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tim Suttle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Tim_Suttle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tim Suttle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html\",\"name\":\"Logical Fallacy of the Day: The Straw-man\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-04-24T15:53:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-04-24T15:53:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#\/schema\/person\/63a7ffe567a014f809abae15ebfc44a6\"},\"description\":\"In an effort to become a better writer, I'm trying to think critically about the way I construct my arguments. Ultimately the stronger argument will not\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Logical Fallacy of the Day: The Straw-man\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/\",\"name\":\"Paperback Theology\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#\/schema\/person\/63a7ffe567a014f809abae15ebfc44a6\",\"name\":\"Tim Suttle\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ce6d230b7d3a7d50e5fc4b6c265691fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ce6d230b7d3a7d50e5fc4b6c265691fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tim Suttle\"},\"description\":\"Find out more about Tim at TimSuttle.com Tim Suttle is the senior pastor of RedemptionChurchkc.com. He is the author of several books including his most recent - Shrink: Faithful Ministry in a Church Growth Culture (Zondervan 2014), Public Jesus (The House Studio, 2012), & An Evangelical Social Gospel? (Cascade, 2011). Tim's work has been featured at The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, Sojourners, and other magazines and journals. Tim is also the founder and front-man of the popular Christian band Satellite Soul, with whom he toured for nearly a decade. The band's most recent album is \\\"Straight Back to Kansas.\\\" He helped to plant three thriving churches over the past 13 years and is the Senior Pastor of Redemption Church in Olathe, Kan. Tim's blog, Paperback Theology, is hosted at Patheos.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=654515438\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/@Tim_Suttle\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/author\/timsuttle\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Logical Fallacy of the Day: The Straw-man","description":"In an effort to become a better writer, I'm trying to think critically about the way I construct my arguments. Ultimately the stronger argument will not","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Logical Fallacy of the Day: The Straw-man","og_description":"In an effort to become a better writer, I'm trying to think critically about the way I construct my arguments. Ultimately the stronger argument will not","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html","og_site_name":"Paperback Theology","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=654515438","article_published_time":"2013-04-24T15:53:30+00:00","author":"Tim Suttle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Tim_Suttle","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tim Suttle","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html","name":"Logical Fallacy of the Day: The Straw-man","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-04-24T15:53:30+00:00","dateModified":"2013-04-24T15:53:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#\/schema\/person\/63a7ffe567a014f809abae15ebfc44a6"},"description":"In an effort to become a better writer, I'm trying to think critically about the way I construct my arguments. Ultimately the stronger argument will not","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/04\/logical-fallacy-of-the-day-the-straw-man.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Logical Fallacy of the Day: The Straw-man"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/","name":"Paperback Theology","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#\/schema\/person\/63a7ffe567a014f809abae15ebfc44a6","name":"Tim Suttle","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ce6d230b7d3a7d50e5fc4b6c265691fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ce6d230b7d3a7d50e5fc4b6c265691fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tim Suttle"},"description":"Find out more about Tim at TimSuttle.com Tim Suttle is the senior pastor of RedemptionChurchkc.com. He is the author of several books including his most recent - Shrink: Faithful Ministry in a Church Growth Culture (Zondervan 2014), Public Jesus (The House Studio, 2012), & An Evangelical Social Gospel? (Cascade, 2011). Tim's work has been featured at The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, Sojourners, and other magazines and journals. Tim is also the founder and front-man of the popular Christian band Satellite Soul, with whom he toured for nearly a decade. The band's most recent album is \"Straight Back to Kansas.\" He helped to plant three thriving churches over the past 13 years and is the Senior Pastor of Redemption Church in Olathe, Kan. Tim's blog, Paperback Theology, is hosted at Patheos.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=654515438","https:\/\/twitter.com\/@Tim_Suttle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/author\/timsuttle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1823\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}