Tag
debate
Entries tagged with debate - exploring this theme across cognitive biases, logical fallacies, mental models, and more.
18 concepts
Ad Hominem
Attacking the person making the argument instead of the argument itself.
Logical FallacyAppeal to Emotion
Using feelings rather than evidence to persuade - bypassing the argument and going straight for the heart.
Logical FallacyBurden of Proof
The obligation to provide evidence rests with the person making the claim - not with the person questioning it.
Logical FallacyCircular Reasoning
An argument that uses its own conclusion as one of its premises - going round in circles without proving anything.
Logical FallacyFalse Equivalence
Treating two things as equally valid or important when they clearly aren't.
Manipulation TacticGish Gallop
Overwhelming an opponent with a rapid flood of arguments, regardless of accuracy, so that none can be adequately addressed.
Manipulation TacticMotte-and-Bailey
Defending a controversial claim by retreating to an uncontroversial one, then acting as if they are the same thing.
Logical FallacyMoving the Goalposts
Changing the criteria for proof or success after they've been met - ensuring that no evidence is ever good enough.
Political TheoryParadox of Tolerance
A tolerant society that tolerates intolerance will eventually be destroyed by it.
Logical FallacyRed Herring
Introducing an irrelevant topic to divert attention from the original issue.
Manipulation TacticSealioning
Disguising harassment as polite, persistent requests for evidence and debate that are never made in good faith.
Logical FallacySlippery Slope
Arguing that one small step will inevitably lead to a chain of increasingly extreme consequences, without evidence that the chain is likely.
Mental ModelState of Nature Assumption
The unconscious belief about whether people are fundamentally selfish or fundamentally cooperative - and how that shapes everything else you think.
Rhetorical DeviceSteel Manning
The practice of engaging with the strongest possible version of someone's argument, rather than the weakest - the opposite of a straw man.
Logical FallacyStraw Man
Misrepresenting someone's argument to make it easier to attack.
Rhetorical DeviceThought-Terminating Cliche
A commonly used phrase that shuts down critical thinking by making further discussion feel unnecessary.
Manipulation TacticTone Policing
Dismissing someone's argument by criticising how they expressed it rather than engaging with what they said.
Manipulation TacticWhataboutism
Responding to a criticism by pointing to someone else's wrongdoing instead of addressing the original point.