Why does that argument feel off?
Chapter I
Rhetorical tricks
Ways of arguing that feel convincing but dodge the actual point.
- Whataboutism Answering a criticism by pointing at someone else's wrongdoing ("and what about them?") so the original point never gets dealt with.
- False dilemma Presenting two options as if they were the only ones ("either you back this law or you side with criminals"), so the real choices never get discussed.
- Strawman Replacing what someone actually said with a dumber, more extreme version and knocking that down ("so what you’re saying is…") instead of answering the real point.
- Ad hominem Attacking the person instead of the argument ("who pays you?", "you’re not even from here", "what would a hairdresser know?"), so the claim itself never gets examined.
- Scapegoating Pinning a complicated problem on one convenient group (migrants, "Brussels", "the elite", NGOs, a minority) so you get a villain instead of an explanation.
- Us vs. them Framing every issue as a battle between two tribes, so that facts stop being facts and become loyalty tests, and asking a question looks like switching sides.
- Loaded language & euphemisms Word choice that smuggles in a verdict before any argument starts ("regime" vs. "government", "invasion" vs. "special military operation"), and the swap test that exposes it.
- Just asking questions Spreading a claim as a question ("isn’t it strange that…?") so it travels like an accusation but can be disowned like a thought. Real questions want answers; these ignore them.
- Moving the goalposts Demanding evidence, then changing the demand the moment it is met, so no proof ever counts and the original claim never has to budge.
- Gish gallop Burying a debate under so many claims at once that nobody can answer them all, then treating every unanswered one as a win.
- False balance Presenting two sides as equal when the evidence is not (one scientist against one blogger, "both parties steal"), so you conclude nothing can be known.
- Appeal to fear Scaring you into agreement ("they are coming for your children, your pension, your country"), so the fear does the thinking and the proposed fix never gets checked.
- Appeal to nostalgia Using "things were better back then" as if it were an argument: a golden age that never quite existed, sold by politicians and advertisers alike.
- 'Common sense' & the silent majority Claiming your view is what everyone secretly thinks ("ordinary people know", "the silent majority"), so disagreeing makes you the odd one out, or the elite.