The Fallacy of Unattempted Charity (the strawman)

[EduChris]

In order for debates to be most productive, each side needs to practice the principle of logic known as "the principle of charity," which says that "interpreters should seek to maximize the rationality of others' arguments and claims by rendering them in the strongest way reasonable....other's arguments are to be presumed strong, their views cogent, and their behavior sensisble until shown to be otherwise....because if one can defeat the strong version of their argument, then one can certainly defeat weaker versions" (The Philosopher's Toolkit, pp. 112-114, emphasis added).

The opposite of the "principle of charity" is the strawman--a ridiculous portrayal of another's view, with the intent of ridiculing or dehumanizing the opponent. Such behavior, while perhaps scoring rhetorical points among the less astute, ultimately serves only to demonstrate that the offender lacks confidence in his or her ability to defeat stronger versions of the argument.

[EduChris]

See the following post in the Did Jesus Want a New Religion thread:

http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 512#352512