straw man
Easier target, falsified
A straw man is a weak or distorted version of an argument, constructed to be easily knocked down.
In debate, to attack a straw man is to refute a position your opponent never actually held: That's a straw man—I never said we should ban all cars.
The term comes from target dummies made of straw, used for combat practice.
A straw man can also be a person set up as a front—someone who appears to act independently but serves another's interests: The company used a straw man to purchase the property.
Intentional misleading distraction
- false dilemmaReasoning error limiting options
- slippery slopeArgument predicting inevitable escalation
- ad hominemArgument targeting character
- hasty generalizationConclusion from insufficient evidence
circular reasoning · non sequitur · equivocation · begging the question · moving the goalposts · false equivalence · loaded question · false premise
Twisting from original state
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
- exaggerationOverstating beyond reality
- oversimplificationStripping complexity unfairly
- mischaracterizationDescribing something inaccurately
twisting words · false attribution · spin · bad faith · misframing · parody · mockery · reductio
Lifelike substitute figure
Formal response disputing claims
- counterargumentPoint challenging another's position
- refutationDisproving a statement
- rhetoricArt of persuasive language
- argumentationSystematic reasoning process
cross-examination · proposition · opposition · contention · discourse · persuasion · oratory · dialectic
red herring
Intentional misleading distraction
- false dilemmaReasoning error limiting options
- slippery slopeArgument predicting inevitable escalation
- ad hominemArgument targeting character
hasty generalization · circular reasoning · non sequitur · equivocation · begging the question · moving the goalposts · false equivalence · loaded question · false premise · logical error
distortion
Twisting from original state
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
- exaggerationOverstating beyond reality
- oversimplificationStripping complexity unfairly
mischaracterization · twisting words · false attribution · spin · bad faith · misframing · parody · mockery · reductio · deflection
dummy
Lifelike substitute figure
Guy Fawkes · decoy · prop
rebuttal
Formal response disputing claims
- counterargumentPoint challenging another's position
- refutationDisproving a statement
- rhetoricArt of persuasive language
argumentation · cross-examination · proposition · opposition · contention · discourse · persuasion · oratory · dialectic · disputation
- rhetoricrhetoric, persuasion, oratory, argumentation, debate
- argument termsad hominem, evidence, proof, appeal to emotion, logic
- debate tacticsexaggeration, appeal to authority, appeal to emotion, logical fallacy, reductio ad absurdum
- debate termsdebate, argument, logic, reasoning, counterargument
- fallaciesred herring, circular reasoning, ad hominem, fallacy, slippery slope
- financial fraudsecurities fraud, bank fraud, accounting fraud, defalcation, embezzler