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→Straw man: clarified to exclude instances in which person A actually did say what was attributed to him, which would not be an example of this fallacy
{{Main|Straw man fallacy}}
{{Main|Straw man fallacy}}
A straw man fallacy occurs by first incorrectly attributing an argument to someone, disproving this argument, then claiming that the person was wrong. A straw man argument follows the form:
A straw man fallacy occurs by first incorrectly attributing an argument to someone, disproving this argument, then claiming that the person was wrong. Typically, the fallacy involves distorting what a person actually said to make it superficially similar but easier to disprove. A straw man argument follows the form:
*If P then Q
*Person A says P.
*Person A says P
*Person B says that person A says P', which is not the same as P.
*Therefore, Q
*Not P'.
*Therefore, not P.
Straw man arguments can sometimes be hard to detect, because a valid statement may be used in a distorted fashion. For example:
Straw man arguments can sometimes be hard to detect, because a valid statement may be used in a distorted fashion. For example: