Moving the Target
Also: Moving the Goalposts, No True Scotsman, Motte and Bailey
Class: Evade
Class: Evade
Changing the details or making exceptions
to avoid losing an argument.
to avoid losing an argument.
Like if someone shoots an arrow
and you move the target so they miss.
I bet you it won’t rain today.
Look, it’s raining now!
That’s sprinkling. It’s not rain rain.
I’m psychic.
Okay, what is my mother’s name?
Uhhh, it begins with an M.
Wrong.
Well, your mind needs to be open to me.
Vitamin C prevents you from catching a cold.
But you got a cold last month.
Well, I would have been much sicker without the vitamin C.
People are so stupid to believe pseudosciences like numerology and palm reading.
You believe in astrology.
But astrology is real!
Astrology is a pseudoscience.
Foolacy vs. Fallacy
Motte and Bailey is adjusting your position whenever you are cornered.
Definitional Retreat is redefining your terms whenever you are cornered.
No True Scotsman is excepting individuals whenever you are cornered.Special Pleading can overlap, but I think it fits better under Rationalization.The Weasel Words foolacy is a more specific type of Moving the Target, choosing ambiguous phrasing to change positions as needed.
The main fallacy is called Moving the Goalposts. Sources say this expression comes from rugby or American football. But these goalposts are fixed in the ground, so it’s a weak metaphor. I named this “Moving the Target” to be more intuitive for new learners. An archery target actually is movable, and you can imagine someone quickly moving it after the arrow is released. Or a dartboard.
A few other fallacies are so similar with only nuanced differences, so I combined them as one foolacy:Moving the Goalposts is adding more criteria whenever you are cornered.Motte and Bailey is adjusting your position whenever you are cornered.
Definitional Retreat is redefining your terms whenever you are cornered.
No True Scotsman is excepting individuals whenever you are cornered.Special Pleading can overlap, but I think it fits better under Rationalization.The Weasel Words foolacy is a more specific type of Moving the Target, choosing ambiguous phrasing to change positions as needed.