156 How to Win Every Argument
is, in short, a misrepresentation of your opponent's position,
created by you for the express purpose of being knocked down.
We should liberalize the laws on marijuana.
'No. Any society with unrestricted access to drugs loses its work ethic and
goes only for immediate gratification. '
(Down he goes! The proposal was to liberalize marijuana laws, but
'unrestricted access to drugs' makes a much less stable target.)Traditionally, the straw man is set up as a deliberate over-
statement of an opponent's position. Many views are easier to
argue against if they are taken to extremes. If your opponent will
not make himself an extremist, you can oblige with a straw man.
Any easily opposed misrepresentation will serve as your dummy.
The straw man is fallacious because he says nothing about the
real argument. Like the ignorati elenchi society he belongs to, he
is totally beside the point. His function is to elicit, by the ease of
his demolition, a scorn which can be directed at the real figure he
represents.
Aficionados of the straw man ploy reserve their loudest olés for
those whose straw construction is concealed by a layer of flesh.
The point is that the straw man does not always have to be
created specially. By deliberately picking on a weak or absurd
supporter of the opposition, and choosing to refute him instead
of the main protagonist, you indulge in the true connoisseur's
use of the straw man.
Even today, applause can be gained for 'refuting' the theory
of evolution, so long as one is careful to refute Darwin. Modern
evolutionary theory is more advanced, having knowledge of
things such as genetics to help it along. But you can set up
Darwin as a straw man and, by knocking him down, give the
impression you have 'refuted' the theory of evolution.