Thursday, October 2, 2008

Smokescreen

This fallacy occurs by offering too many details in order either to obscure the point or to cover-up counter-evidence. In the latter case it would be an example of the fallacy of suppressed evidence. If you produce a smokescreen by bringing up an irrelevant issue, then you produce a red herring fallacy. Sometimes called clouding the issue.

Example:

Senator, wait before you vote on Senate Bill 88. Do you realize that Delaware passed a bill on the same subject in 1932, but it was ruled unconstitutional for these twenty reasons. Let me list them here.... Also, before you vote on SB 88 you need to know that .... And so on.
There is no recipe to follow in distinguishing smokescreens from reasonable appeals to caution and care.

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