Slippery Slopes
Hi,
This week’s email is about a common type of argument, that is often—but not always—used in a fallacious way.
The information here is from my article on the topic.
Here are the key practical points you should know:
A slippery slope is an argument which claims that an initial action could lead to a chain of events with an extreme result, or that if we treat one case a certain way then we'll have to treat more extreme cases the same way too.
For example, a slippery slope argument might claim that if we allow some national parks to close at night, then soon all national parks will be completely closed to the public.
Slippery slope arguments can be either reasonable or fallacious, depending on factors like the likelihood that the initial event in the chain will lead to the proposed end result, and the phrasing that's used to convey this likelihood.
You can respond to a fallacious slippery slope directly by pointing out missing steps in it, highlighting the disconnect/distance between the different steps, or demonstrating that it's possible to stop the transition between the start and end points.
You can also respond by asking for more information about the proposed slope, including how likely it is that the start point will lead to the end point, and what evidence this likelihood is based on.
As always, I'm happy to hear your thoughts.
Have a great week,
Itamar