![]() Some writers point out that strict necessity isn't required and it can still be characterized as a slippery slope if at each stage the next step is plausible. The idea being that through a series of intermediate steps p will imply z. : 122 A slippery slope event can be represented by a series of conditional statements, namely: Some writers distinguish between a slippery slope event and a slippery slope argument. ![]() Other idioms for the slippery slope fallacy are the thin end/edge of the wedge, the camel's nose in the tent, or If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. In this sense, it constitutes an informal fallacy. The fallacious sense of "slippery slope" is often used synonymously with continuum fallacy, in that it ignores the possibility of middle ground and assumes a discrete transition from category A to category B. This type of argument is sometimes used as a form of fearmongering in which the probable consequences of a given action are exaggerated in an attempt to scare the audience. This is quantified in terms of what is known as the warrant (in this case, a demonstration of the process that leads to the significant effect). The strength of such an argument depends on whether the small step really is likely to lead to the effect. The core of the slippery slope argument is that a specific decision under debate is likely to result in unintended consequences. This 1895 cartoon makes a slippery-slope argument of how weddings would look in 2001 if women got the right to vote.Ī slippery slope fallacy ( SSF), in logic, critical thinking, political rhetoric, and caselaw, is a fallacious argument in which a party asserts that a relatively small first step leads to a chain of related events culminating in some significant (usually negative) effect.
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