The test
Would a thoughtful defender of the position recognise it as stated?
The straw man is the easiest fallacy to commit and the most damaging to a conversation, because it tells the other side that they have not been heard.
The site's first principle, steelman first, is the opposite habit. Each claim card begins with the mainstream claim in its strongest form, in the words of the textbooks that teach it. A critique of anything weaker would persuade no one who is honestly asking.
Seen on both sides
In mainstream arguments
It would attack a straw man to say that creationists believe species never change, when most accept change and speciation within created kinds.In critical arguments
It would attack a straw man to say that evolution teaches a monkey once gave birth to a human.Not a fallacy when
The position described is one its defenders actually hold, stated in the terms they use.
Diagnosed on this site
Not yet diagnosed in any pillar or claim card.
Further reading
- Aikin SF, Casey J. “Straw men, weak men, and hollow men.” Argumentation 25:87–105 (2011).