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Is "Where do we draw the line" a slippery slope fallacy?I've just been thinking about this a lot lately. Whenever two people are discussing something, I often hear "where do we draw the line" not necessarily as a question but it's usually implied to be a supporting argument to a previously made statement, and it feels like it's a slippery slope fallacy, but I'm not sure.
It most often seems like someone asking this is making this kind of point: "If we allow X, then that will open the doors to allow Y and even the dreaded Z, so where do we draw the line if not Y?" I hope I explained what I mean clearly enough. |
| asked on Monday, Apr 17, 2017 12:24:52 AM by The Dudeman | |
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Claims are constantly being made, many of which are confusing, ambiguous, too general to be of value, exaggerated, unfalsifiable, and suggest a dichotomy when no such dichotomy exists. Good critical thinking requires a thorough understanding of the claim before attempting to determine its veracity. Good communication requires the ability to make clear, precise, explicit claims, or “strong” claims. The rules of reason in this book provide the framework for obtaining this understanding and ability.
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Hi Logan. This is an excellent question. Asking "where do we draw the line" is wonderful—IF the question is sincere. As you suggest in your opening question, many times this is not sincere but rather a statement that the person believes the line has already been crossed. This is a slippery slope argument. The question is, is it a legitimate slippery slope or a fallacious one? It would have to be argued based on the specific example.
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| answered on Monday, Apr 17, 2017 07:59:34 AM by Bo Bennett, PhD |
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