Just a Strawman

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We’re halfway through our series on logical fallacies. Today’s is another common one: the strawman fallacy.

Now, this is when someone misrepresents another person’s position and then attacks that, instead of dealing with the actual argument.

Here’s an example: “Creationists don’t believe animals change. Clearly, animals do change. So, creationists are wrong.”

That’s nothing but a strawman! Creationists know animals change but we argue that change is limited by kind. One kind won’t turn into another kind—in other words, there’re limits to the amount of change and this is what we observe!

Strawman attacks are common, so watch out for them and don’t make them yourself!

Dig Deeper

• Straw-Man Fallacy
• Bill Nye the Straw Man Guy and Noah’s Ark