The fallacy of the slippery slope

[ButterflyBlood]

here's something to tell the wingnuts that claim pedophilia and beastiality will be acceptable if gay marriage is. My philosophy professor used it last year explaining the slippery slope fallacy.

"Say you told me you had to have heart surgery next week to save your life, so you wanted to be able to take the test at a different time. And I would say: "Well, I'd like to be able to let you off, but then people who want surgery but where it isn't life threatening would demand to be able to retake the test as well. And then the people who have an appointment to treat a serious illness but where they won't die from it instantly will demand to be able to get class off as well, then people who are just sick at the moment will, and then someone could say they can't take the test properly because they have a headache and I'd have to excuse them as well, and then someone could say they had a papercut and it's causing them too much pain to take the test, and I'd have to let them take it later as well. And I can't do that.

So you'll either have to die or fail the class."

Common sense dictates why some of these scenarios are valid reasons to be able to take the test later, while some aren't. We have enough common sense to see the difference between consensual adult relationships and pedophilia and beastiality.

[Fenris]

1. Remember, "slippery slope" arguments are based on assumptions

And more often than not, the claimant assumes too much.

[RobertSeattle]

3. More often than not, "Slippery Slope" is the sign of losing argument

You can't base something on facts, so you have to base it on assumptions which often lead to fear.

[Muddleoftheroad]

6. LOL

I love your comment. Too bad BOTH SIDES embrace the slippery slope and mock the other for their use of it.

For the right, it's most guns that they fear because many gun opponents wish to ban guns. That means, every compromise simply moves the issue that much closer to banning.

On the left, it's abortion. Here folks fear every elimination of any abortion right will eventually lead to disaster.

Now it's gay marriage. In reality, it's pretty much every issue.

There is validity to it. Your opponents will keep coming after you and whoever has sway at any given point will gain ground.

[drdigi420]

2. there is nothing 'common' about sense

sense is increasingly uncommon in this country

[Llewlladdwr]

4. This doesn't address, though, consensual adult relationships...

that some of us may find distasteful, such as those between adult siblings, parents and their adult children, or multiple numbers of men and/or women. If gay marriage is allowed will these other relationships be able to be formalized into marriages also? If not, why?

[wuushew]

5. Actually I have no problems with those at all

Although incest is distasteful, the only public reason to prevent it stopping the propagation of genetic defects.

This is blatant hispocrsy as severly handicapped people and infertile couples have full reproductive rights as the rest of society(as they should since we are not nazis hopefully).


A consenting adult should be free to engage in a wide range of activities with like minded consenting adults.

[Llewlladdwr]

7. Thanks for your temperate response.

It's nice to have someone else acknowledge the hypocracy of not allowing sibling marriages based on the supposed likelyhood of birth defects and yet not screening all citizens for potential health risks to their future offspring.