Logical Fallacies (IV)
Straw Men and Red Herrings (The Bus 4.42)
Welcome aboard The Bus!
The Stop
Logical fallacies are arguments built on false reasoning. Initially, they might appear true - and can be persuasive. Consequently, they are often used in rhetoric to encourage people to think a certain way or believe certain things, and - as they usually appeal at least in part to emotions - can be very effective. However, fallacious arguments are built on flawed reasoning that is exposed when logic is applied. There are many types of logical fallacies, and philosophers as early as Aristotle recognised as essential the need to detect and avoid them - including ones such as the ‘straw man’ and ‘red herring’ fallacies.1
The straw man fallacy occurs when someone attempts to rebut an argument by misconstruing it or addressing only a weak or distorted version of it. Named after the idea that a straw man (or scarecrow) is a fake representation or caricature of a real person, the idea is that the person attempting to win an argument from this standpoint is not engaging in good faith with the real argument. Rather, they develop their argument against a caricature of the real argument, thereby ‘constructing a straw man’ in their rebuttal.
Some examples:
Scenario 1: A teacher says the class needs to spend more time on maths, and a parent complains the teacher doesn’t care about literacy. In this instance, the teacher has only said the class needs to work more on maths - nothing has been said about literacy. But by arguing as if the teacher’s statement betrays the teacher’s true thoughts about literacy, the parent has constructed a straw man fallacy. The teacher may (or may not) value literacy - but literacy is not the point of the statement, and thus to argue against spending more time on maths from this standpoint is fallacious.
Scenario 2: A Democrat politician says more money needs to be spent on social welfare, and a Republican opponent says this means the Democrat is a communist. In this instance, unless the Democrat is also calling for the dissolution of private industry, the end of capitalism and the imposition of state control on everything, they’re not arguing for communism at all. Accusing the Democrat of being a communist might stir-up the right-wing base, but at best it’s a caricature - a straw man - of the Democrat’s true position.
The straw man fallacy is a type known generally as red herrings - logical fallacies in which information is presented in such a way as to distract from the main issue or argument being discussed. The term was coined in 1807 by the British radical journalist and politician William Cobbett2 who used strong-smelling red herrings to distract dogs from chasing rabbits. The smell of the fish overpowered the smell of the rabbits, putting the dogs off the scent. Today, the term is used to explain any situation where someone attempts to distract people from the true issue under discussion.
A couple of examples:
Scenario 1: A father and son are discussing the difficulties of earning a living in today’s economy. The son says, ‘I can hardly make ends meet - I need to find a better paying job,’ to which the father responds: ‘You think it’s difficult to earn a living on your salary? When I was young, I only made £3 an hour!’ This response is a red herring fallacy because the father’s income when he was young is irrelevant to the discussion about earning a living in today’s economy. It is a complete distraction from the son’s current struggle, moving the discussion off topic towards something entirely unconstructive.
Scenario 2: In an interview, a politician is asked to explain why the unemployment rate has risen despite implementing his party’s policies. The politician replies: ‘I have been working incredibly hard since I entered office, and I think the citizens can see this.’ In this (unfortunately very common) example, the politician directly avoids answering the question by using the red herring of talking about how hard he has been working. By throwing out a comment about an irrelevant point, the politician’s attempt to avoid the question is fallacious because how hard the he works is unrelated to unemployment rates.
The Detour
Today’s Detour is to ‘Friend of a Friend,’ a music video (5:25) by The Smile3 from their latest album, Wall of Eyes. Directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, Inherent Vice, and Licorice Pizza, amongst others), it’s a brilliant fit to the band’s eclectic sound. If you’re at all a fan of Anderson, The Smile or Radiohead, give it a watch. You won’t be disappointed.
The Smile: 'Friend of a Friend'
The Recommendation
Today’s Recommendation is an unusual one for The Bus as it’s neither a book nor a film, but a serial news magazine: The Week. Published in both UK and US editions (my experience is only with the former version), for years I’ve found it a good way to get concise, balanced summaries of the previous week’s major news stories - and an enjoyable supplement to the many other news outlets I absorb daily on screen and in print. With a format that makes it easy to dip in and out of, it’s a great magazine to keep in the bathroom!
The Sounds
Today’s playlist is a selection of five tracks which have nothing to do with the Stop, but seem to keep appearing on my playlist: ‘Tramazi Parti’ (Black Grape, 1995), ‘Jane Says’ (Jane’s Addiction, 1987), ‘The Hardest Button to Button’ (The White Stripes, 2003), ‘I Was Born This Way’ (Carl Bean, 1977) and ‘Lido Shuffle’ (Boz Scaggs, 1976). Enjoy!
The Thought
Today’s Thought is good advice from the 19th century American novelist, satirist and humorist Mark Twain:4
‘Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.’
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this Stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!
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Until the next Stop …
That’s right! It’s the fourth instalment of the Logical Fallacies Stops - The Bus 3.1 examined the slippery slope fallacy, The Bus 3.31 looked at the ad hominem fallacy, and The Bus 4.5 examined the fallacy of cause-correlation. Understanding these devices and detecting them in arguments is an essential part of critical thinking - and clear, rational thought is more important today than it has been in recent history. Forewarned is forearmed. Sources for today’s Stop include class notes from lessons I’ve delivered, but also Straw Man Fallacy Examples, Red Herring Fallacy Examples and Informal Fallacies (Texas State University).
For more about Cobbett, see: William Cobbett (Britannica).
The Smile is the current project by Radiohead’s Thom York and Jonny Greenwood, with drums by Mike Skinner - formerly of Sons of Kemet (see The Bus 4.14 for a Stop about that most excellent band).
For more about Twain (born Samuel Langhorne Clemens), see: Mark Twain (Britannica).
Excellent edition in my humble opinion! Although I am not familiar with The Week, all other chapters of this Bus! resonate. I appreciate the explanation and examples of red herrings and straw man. Its important to recognize in this contentious election year here (ugh!) The Smile video certainly did not disappoint. The Twain wisdom is a good reminder - again for this year. And thank you for including one of my favorite (previously closet favorite) songs Lido Shuffle. I have no idea what its about nor really want to know because the music is just so damn good!
Thanks Owl! When I was in the National War College during my time in the Army, we spent a lot of time studying logical fallacies. We read a lot of Kahneman, and I we studied the history of the Peloponnesian War in that context. In particular, the Athenian invasion of Sicily seemed to have several biases/fallacies at work: Optimism bias, planning fallacy, and prospect theory to name a few. Thanks for reminding me of that time.
I actually wrote a paper comparing the 2003 invasion of Iraq to the invasion of Sicily. Eerily similar.
Hope you are well!