[英語小知識] Slippery Slope - 滑坡謬誤
Many of your examples contain this logical fallacy! Eliminate this mistake!
錯謬:不合理使用連串因果關係。
例子:遲到的學生要判死刑。因為遲到是不用功的表現;將來工作也不勤力;不勤力導致公司損失;公司損失就會倒閉;公司倒閉會使人失業;失業造成家庭問題;家庭問題導致自殺率上升,為了防止自殺率上升,我們應判遲到的學生死刑。
解釋:滑坡謬誤中假定了連串「可能性」為「必然性」。比方說,遲到是否「必然」是不用功的表現?將來工作又是否「必然」不勤力?答案可想而知。例子雖然誇張,但其實許多時候大家亦會犯相同錯誤而不自知。
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The Slippery Slope is a fallacy in which a person asserts that some event must inevitably follow from another without any argument for the inevitability of the event in question. In most cases, there are a series of steps or gradations between one event and the one in question and no reason is given as to why the intervening steps or gradations will simply be bypassed. This "argument" has the following form:
1. Event X has occurred (or will or might occur).
2. Therefore event Y will inevitably happen.
This sort of "reasoning" is fallacious because there is no reason to believe that one event must inevitably follow from another without an argument for such a claim. This is especially clear in cases in which there is a significant number of steps or gradations between one event and another.
Examples of Slippery Slope
1. "We have to stop the tuition increase! The next thing you know, they'll be charging $400,000 a semester!"
2. "We've got to stop them from banning pornography. Once they start banning one form of literature, they will never stop. Next thing you know, they will be burning all the books!"
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope
http://windperson.wordpress.com/2006/11/10/%E9%82%8F%E8%BC%AF%E8%AC%AC%E8%AA%A4the-logical-fallacies/
http://www.logicalfallacies.info/
http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/slippery-slope.html
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