How Often Do We (Philosophy Professors) Commit the Straw Man Fallacy?

Teaching Philosophy, Vol. 31, pp. 27-38, 2008

12 Pages Posted: 10 Aug 2013

See all articles by Brian Ribeiro

Brian Ribeiro

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - Department of Philosophy & Religion

Date Written: 2008

Abstract

In a recent paper (in Argumentation, 2006) Robert Talisse and Scott Aikin suggest that we ought to recognize two distinct forms of the straw man fallacy. In addition to misrepresenting the strength of an opponent’s specific argument (= the representation form), one can also misrepresent the strength of one’s opposition in general, or the overall state of a debate, by selecting a (relatively) weak opponent for critical consideration (= the selection form). Here I consider whether we as philosophy professors could be seen as sometimes committing the selection form of the straw man through the performance of our regular teaching duties.

Keywords: informal logic, fallacies, straw man fallacy, pedagogy

Suggested Citation

Ribeiro, Brian, How Often Do We (Philosophy Professors) Commit the Straw Man Fallacy? (2008). Teaching Philosophy, Vol. 31, pp. 27-38, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2308029

Brian Ribeiro (Contact Author)

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - Department of Philosophy & Religion ( email )

Department of Philosophy & Religion (#2753)
615 McCallie Ave.
Chattanooga, TN 37403
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.brian-ribeiro.com

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