Slippery Slope

Slippery Slope

1. cause and effect

   • if you're late to school
     • you'll be late to work
       • and then you'll end up in jail

2. Assess a policy or a proposed course of action is to draw inferences about its likely consequences

3. Causal Slippery Slope

   • someone claims that if an action or policy is permitted motion

4. Event X has occurred (or will or might occur). Therefore event Y will inevitably happen.

   • fallacious b/c there is no reason to believe that one event must follow from another without an argument for such a claim.

5. EXAMPLES

   • if abortion is legalized, it will become widespread. if it becomes widespread. respect for human life will weaken. if respect for human life weakens our form of civilization willl b jeapardized; therefore, abortion should not be legalized
   • "We have to stop the tuition increase! The next thing you know, they'll be charging $40,000 a semester!"
   • "The US shouldn't get involved militarily in other countries. Once the government sends in a few troops, it will then send in thousands to die."
   • "We've got to stop them from banning pornography. Once they start banning one form of literature, they will never stop. Next thing you know, they will be burning all the books!"

6. series of steps or gradations between one event and the one in question and no reason is given as to why the intervening steps or gradations will simply be bypassed.

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