What is slippery slope argument

At least two events are necessary for a causal slippery slope, though any a number of events can appear in between them, with each event in the chain occurring directly as a result of the previous one. Accordingly, a causal slippery slope will usually have the following structure in practice:.

These slopes often involve a positive-feedback mechanism , where the initial action in question will set off a chain reaction that reinforces itself. This potential feedback mechanism can be mentioned explicitly by the person proposing the slope, or it can be an implicit part of their argument.

Note : the causal slippery slope is sometimes also referred to as a predictive slippery slope or an empirical slippery slope. A precedential slippery slope is an argument that suggests that if we set the precedent of treating something relatively minor a certain way now, then we will have to treat something relatively major the same way later on. For example, a precedential slippery slope could involve arguing that if we legalize a relatively harmless drug now, then we will also have to legalize a much more harmful drug later.

As such, the precedential slippery slopes are based on the need to treat similar cases in a consistent manner. Note : the precedential slippery slope is sometimes also referred to as the fallacy of slippery precedents , in cases where its use is fallacious. This argument is based on the concept of vagueness and on the sorites paradox also known as the paradox of the heap. Specifically, this occurs when the slippery slope argument suggests that if you take an initial step, then there is no reason for you not to accept the next step, and the one after that, until you reach the final step, which is usually highly negative.

As such, such arguments pressure you to either give up on your initial commitment, or to demonstrate that there is an inconsistency in your commitments. Note : because of its association with the sorites paradox and the concept of assimilation, the conceptual slippery slope is sometimes referred to as a sorites slippery slope or as the slippery assimilation fallacy. Slippery slope arguments are often fallacious, though the reasons why they are fallacious can vary, and depend on the type of slippery slope which is being used.

I don't think it's a good idea to lower the drinking age. Next thing we know kids will get to drive at age ten, and vote at fifteen. Let kids be kids and adults be adults. Juan: I knew he was a dishonorable government official all along and now I can prove it. Maria : How? Juan: Well, he admitted that as a prisoner of war in Vietnam he continually lied to his captors.

Maria: Yeah, he should have. Juan : Sure, most people think that you can justify lies that protect your country in wartime. But then, of course, lying could be justified to protect your country in times of peace.

Then, government officials become capable of justifying lying about all their activities. Now you can be sure that since he is accomplished at justifying his lies, he tells lies whenever he feels like it. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets CSS if you are able to do so.

This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving. Ethics guide. The slippery slope. In this fallacy, a person makes a claim that one event leads to another event and so on until we come to some awful conclusion. Along the way, each step or event in the faulty logic becomes more and more improbable.

Therefore, gun control laws will cause us to lose our country to terrorists. See Dr. Fallacy in the comic below try to get away with this fallacy.