- Joined
- May 6, 2016
- Messages
- 1,908
- Reaction score
- 489
- Location
- Colorado
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Independent
Far too often, people on one side misrepresent what the other side is really saying, whether it be intentional or not. A straw man argument is an argument which does such. The point of debate is to reach the truth (or for the sake of the audience if not the debaters), strawmanning undermines this because you can't come to a good conclusion if you don't know what the other side is really calling for.
The alternative to strawmanning is steelmanning, looking at the main core argument of the other side as opposed to similar arguments which the other side isn't actually making. This will generally require you to actually do a bit of research into the other side as opposed to relying on info from people on your side.
The alternative to strawmanning is steelmanning, looking at the main core argument of the other side as opposed to similar arguments which the other side isn't actually making. This will generally require you to actually do a bit of research into the other side as opposed to relying on info from people on your side.