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> A straw man is a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while refuting an argum
by aerovistae 9y ago
> A straw man is a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while refuting an argument that was not advanced by that opponent.
> Why do things in a challenging way when I've got Java right here and it works just fine?
How is that a straw man? If an individual were to say that, in what way are they refuting an argument you didn't advance?
- twitchard 9y agoThe "straw man" in the straw man fallacy is the argument that nobody is making. The comment about "Java is right here" is not a straw man fallacy -- but it is a straw man.
- aerovistae 9y agoI'm sorry, genuine question, I'm still not seeing how that's a straw man. How is "Java is right here" an argument nobody is making? He's using it as an argument himself to question the value of working with a functional language, no?
- twitchard 9y agoSorry -- more precisely a "straw man" is usually an argument which you do not advocate yourself, that you construct -- usually in order to argue against it and strengthen your own position. When the author of the comment says "straw man, not my own view" in parentheses, he is saying "hey, this is what I imagine somebody who likes Java and not functional languages might think".