Terms for denying unrelated points in argumentative discourse.
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😎 Say I’m talking to someone about a topic. In order to avoid responding to my question, or maybe for other reason, they include an explicit “denial” of something seemingly unrelated to my question as part of their argumentation. For example, suppose I’m a father and I’m talking to my son about who does the dishes and, as part of his response he says, “but I didn’t break the marmalade jar!” (which was a fact unknown to me… I didn’t even know a jar was broken and it was not part of my discourse about who does the dishes, though my son might find it related). Notice English is not my native language and my vocabulary is not super extensive. Are there some terms that refer to that kind of behavior? Denying something unrelated to the conversation as an argumentative strategy…
🤖 The behavior you’re describing, where someone brings up an unrelated denial as part of their argument, can be characterized using a few terms:
1. **Red Herring**: This is a term used in argumentation to describe a diversion or distraction from the original topic or argument. By mentioning something unrelated, like the broken marmalade jar, the person is diverting attention from the main issue (who does the dishes).
2. **Non Sequitur**: This Latin phrase means “it does not follow.” It refers to a statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement. In your example, the son’s claim about the marmalade jar is a non sequitur because it doesn’t logically connect to the conversation about doing the dishes.
3. **Deflection**: This term refers to the act of changing the subject or diverting attention away from an important issue. The son’s mention of the broken jar can be seen as an attempt to deflect the conversation from the topic at hand.
Each of these terms captures a different aspect of the behavior you described, and they are commonly used in discussions about argumentation and debate.
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