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Straw Man Fallacy Essay

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Every day people want to convince others that their ideas are the right ones. People will engage in arguments to try to prove their claims with reasoning. However, many times, the individuals’ reasoning behind their claims are faulty and erroneously tries to prove their claims. Such type of reasoning is called a fallacy. One particular type of fallacy is called the Straw Man fallacy. In a Straw Man fallacy, a proponent intentionally misrepresents the opponent’s argument to facilitate the process of discrediting it. Analogously, it is much easier to defeat an individual made of straw than it is to defeat one made of flesh and blood (Copi, 113). In similar fashion, in a Straw Man, the proponent will use morally questionable and unfair …show more content…

He distorted Clinton’s stance on immigration to discredit her. Clinton later confirmed that she was in fact referring to commerce of goods and energy, not to letting people freely into the country. Although Clinton has differing views on the issue of immigration from Trump, she has not claimed she favors the entrance illegal immigrants into the country, instead, she favors an immigration reform for those illegal immigrants already in the country, especially if they have been in the country since they were a child (Immigration Reform). According to the detailed immigration reform page on her website, Clinton is actually in favor of enforcing immigration laws, as long as they reasonable and humane (Immigration Reform). The use of the Straw Man fallacy may only do more harm to the proponent. In Trump’s case, there is a risk that his listeners will recognize the unfair distortion of Clinton’s claim (Copi, 113). They could also recognize his argument as fallacious. And by recognizing the fallacy, people could question his fitness as a presidential candidate, given that there is a high level of seriousness attached to a president’s behavior.
By committing the Straw Man fallacy, Trump is less likely to win an argument against his opponent. In order to

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