Hi, Kids! Today's Logic Class Topic: The Strawman Argument
Hi, kids, welcome to our Zoom logic class! Today’s lesson is a short one on a common fallacy used in making arguments.
To wit: The “strawman” argument. That is when someone expresses an argument no one is making and then proceeds to knock it down. It is frequently used by disingenuous politicians caught in hypocrisy.
Take US Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), the Democratic whip. Here, he makes an argument that literally no one has made – that the Senate’s “filibuster has no racial history at all.” Just 3 years ago, Sen. Durbin signed a letter with 32 other Senate Democrats in defense of the filibuster. Hmmm.
Of course, the filibuster has been used by racists (almost exclusively Southern Democrats) in the past. But the argument that supporters of the filibuster rebut is the one made by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who said it was “deeply rooted in racism.” That is easily disapproved, and Sen. Durbin likely knows that.
Here’s today’s reading on the history of the filibuster (previously posted; extra credit if you’ve already read it!). For an extra 10 points, please read and watch this little clip featuring US Senator and Ph.D. historian, Senator Ben Sasse, making mincemeat of Sen. Durbin’s argument. You will be tested, sooner than you think.