You will be less likely to shift the burden of proof if you learn to
expect your ideas to be questioned and criticized and prepare to support
them before you express them.
Straw Man
The term straw man was coined by logicians to denote an argument without substance. The term shares its meaning with the word scarecrow, a pile
of straw stuffed in human clothing and placed in a garden or field to scare
away birds. To commit the error of straw man is to put false words in
someone else’s mouth and then expose their falsity, conveniently forgetting that the other person never said them. Suppose you are discussing with a friend whether the sale of assault weapons should be banned and the conversation goes as follows:
You: I oppose any restriction on the sale of guns. It should make no difference whether we’re talking about a pistol,a rifle, a shotgun, or an assault weapon. A gun is a gun.And a constitutional right is a constitutional right.
Your friend: You say it “should make no difference” what kind of
gun is involved. I say it should make a difference because the guns you mentioned are very different from one another. Assault weapons are unlike other kinds of guns—they are not designed for hunting, or even for self-defense, but only for killing people, often indiscriminately. That’s why they should be banned.
如果你學(xué)著期待你的觀點被提問，被批判窟勃，并準(zhǔn)備在你表達它們后支持它們，你就不太可能轉(zhuǎn)移舉證責(zé)任娶视。
稻草人
“稻草人”一詞是邏輯學(xué)家發(fā)明的慌盯，指的是沒有實質(zhì)內(nèi)容的論點。這個詞和稻草人一詞共享了含義，指的是一堆裝在人體衣服里的稻草嗽冒，放在花園或田里礁扮，用來嚇跑鳥知举。犯稻草人的錯誤是將錯誤詞匯放入他人的口中隨后揭露它們的錯誤瞬沦，很容易忘記對方從來沒有說過它們。假設(shè)你在和一個朋友討論是否攻擊型武器的售賣應(yīng)被禁止雇锡，對話如下進行：
你：我反對任何對售賣槍支的限制逛钻。無論我們討論手槍，來福槍锰提，射機槍或者一個攻擊型武器都不應(yīng)有什么不同曙痘。一支槍就是一支槍。憲法權(quán)利就是憲法權(quán)利立肘。
你朋友：你說“不應(yīng)該有什么不同”边坤，任何種類的槍都包含在內(nèi)。我說應(yīng)該不一樣因為你提到的槍都每支盡不相同谅年。攻擊型武器不像槍支中的其他種類——它們不是為打獵設(shè)計的茧痒，或者甚至不是為了自我防衛(wèi)，只是用來殺人而已融蹂，經(jīng)常是無意識的旺订。這就是為什么它們應(yīng)該被禁。
