The straw man fallacy is when you misinterpret your opponents argument and refute the misinterpreted argument instead or the original argument. The misinterpreted argument is usually similar to the original argument, but it is easier to refute. There are a few different ways that the straw man fallacy can occur. One way is quoting your opponents argument out of context. A second way of setting up this fallacy is oversimplifying your opponents argument. Another way that the straw man fallacy can occur is by purposely misinterpreting your opponents argument so you can easily attack it.
An example of a straw man fallacy would be:
John: "Do you want to go hiking this weekend?"
Tim: "No, I don't want to go hiking"
John: "O.k., so your telling me your not my friend anymore."
Tim: "I didn't say that."
This is an example of a straw man fallacy because John is misinterpreting what Tim is saying. John says that Tim is ending their friendship just because he doesn't want to go hiking this weekend. Tim does not mention that he is no longer friends with John. This is why this is a straw man fallacy.
Yes, you are right. I like this example because most people probably go through this with their friends. Sometimes, friends may hang out with each so often that they forget that there are times where they should "take a break" from hanging with each other. Later, all of a sudden like you said, the friend may say that they don't want to go hiking. From that, the other friend will get an idea that he or she doesn't want to hang out with them. It might just be because they hate hiking. For me for example, my friend actually asked if I wanted to go hiking with her and I declined. I was worried she would get the wrong idea that I didn't want to hang out with her but really, I declined because my feet were still sore. It's a good thing she didn't make an assumptions but if she did make an assumption, then yes, that may apply to your fallacy. Anyways, nice post. I really can relate to it. :)
ReplyDelete- Pink Bean