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LibraryTactics

8 entries

Section

Tactics

Bad-faith moves that aren't strictly fallacies. They work on the conversation, not the logic: they swap claims, flood the zone, or wear you down.

  1. Definition
  2. How it works
  3. How to spot it
  4. Examples
  5. Why it works
  6. How to counter it
  7. When it's fair play
  8. Related
  9. Sources & further reading

Evasion

3
  1. 01 Motte and BaileyAdvancing a bold claim, then retreating to a modest one when challenged, as if they were the same claim.
  2. 02 WhataboutismAnswering a criticism by pointing to someone else's wrongdoing, so the original charge never gets answered.
  3. 03 Moving the GoalpostsRaising the bar for evidence or acceptance every time the previous bar is met.

Overload

2
  1. 01 Gish GallopBurying an opponent under so many weak claims that they can't answer them all in the time available.
  2. 02 SealioningWearing someone down with persistent, polite-sounding demands for evidence and debate, made in bad faith.

Framing

3
  1. 01 The Perversity ThesisArguing that a reform will produce the opposite of what it intends, so trying to help will only make things worse.
  2. 02 The Futility ThesisArguing that a reform won't change anything, so it isn't worth trying.
  3. 03 The Jeopardy ThesisArguing that a reform, however good, will put an earlier and more valuable achievement at risk.