Straw Man Fallacy in Debate: Definition, Examples, and Refutation, Study notes of Logic

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Comm Skills Virtual Learning

Debate I &

Adv Competitive Debate

Logical Fallacies - Straw Man

May 05, 2020

Lesson: May 5, 2020

Objective/Learning Target:

Define, identify, and refute logical fallacies.

Lesson/Activity: The Straw Man Fallacy

A fallacy is a false or mistaken idea.

A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning or a false assumption.

Identifying logical fallacies in debate can help shorten the time it takes to come up with a response to your opponent. It can also make you sound really smart if you can label the logical fallacy your opponent is using. Finally, learning about logical fallacies can help you not use them during a debate.

Today, we will explore the Straw Man Fallacy. The next several slides will show a definition and an example of the Straw Man Fallacy.

The Straw Man Fallacy - definition and form

If you prefer Khan Academy, you might also watch their Straw Man Fallacy video.

Straw Man Fallacy definition: Substituting a person’s actual position or argument with a distorted, exaggerated, or misrepresented version of the position or the argument (Bennett, Bo. “Logically Fallacious.” Logically Fallacious , www.logicallyfallacious.com/)

Logical Form of Straw Man:

● Person 1 makes claim Y. ● Person 2 restates person 1’s claim (in a distorted way). ● Person 2 attacks the distorted version of the claim. ● Therefore, claim Y is false.

The Straw Man Fallacy - refutation

When refuting or countering the Straw Man Fallacy in debate, you might choose one of these approaches:

1. Point out the Straw Man. a. Explain how your opponent distorted your argument. b. Ask your opponent to justify why their distortion of your argument is the same as the argument you actually made.
2. Ignore the Straw Man. a. Ignore the distortion and continue to make your point. The time it takes to address the argument might be better spent reasserting your argument. b. If the opponent continues with their distortion, you should choose to address it directly.
3. Accept the Straw Man. a. If your opponent’s Straw Man can be defended, then you could choose to accept the fallacy, showing you win the argument either way.

Practice - Straw Man Fallacy

Think about one of your debate topics this year.

What was a common Straw Man fallacy you or your opponents made?

Write an example of a Straw Man argument that follows the logical form.

Now, use the refutation tips to refute that argument.