Monday, June 20, 2011
Content Fallacies
I have heard the slippery slope argument used many times when people are discussing politics. When someone claims something is a slippery slope, they are implying that while the initial allowance may not be that dangerous, it will quite easily and quickly lead to more dangerous situations. While I do not agree with this argument at all, I have heard people use it when it comes to discussing the legalization of gay marriage. In a discussion I had with a Christian Fundamentalist about the topic, she argued that if gay marriage was made legal, the next thing you know it would be legal to marry an animal, or have multiple spouses. She also argued that once gay marriage was legalized, they would be teaching homosexuality to elementary school students. This argument was so clearly a fallacy (and just plain insulting) because there is no evidence supporting that any of those conclusions would come to fruition.
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You gave a nice presentation of the slippery slope fallacy. It was not difficult for me to get the picture of the fallacy, especially with the example you gave. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard used the slippery slope that if gay marriage was legalized then that would open up the flood gates for any number of bizarre marriages. The legalization of gay marriage would not necessarily lead to anything more than just gay marriage. It is not safe to assume that the legalization of gay marriage will lead to marriages with animals or other such things and it is important for all of us to realize that.
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