Examples of the slippery slope fallacy abound in the realm of political debate and discussions on policy. So unintended consequences follow the first step in the chain of events. Edit: I re-read your post and saw it mentioned “persecution.” Well my first example is a little obvious while the second one is unrelated. The "slippery slope" is an argument, considered by some as legitimate, and others as imaginary, that suggests once a law or attitude sets a precedent, it will more easily/ inevitably be corrupted or abused.. Are there any good examples of this occurring? To learn more about this topic, check out the following: Barry Deutsch is the Portland-based author and cartoonist of Ampersand, a political comic with a generally progressive sensibility. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. The slippery slope argument views decisions not on their own, but as the potential beginning of a trend. Read more. You said that if we allow A to happen, then Z will eventually happen too, therefore A should not happen. Opponents of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have long warned that there is a “slippery slope” from initially limited acceptance of the practice to a broader “right” to take the lives of the sick and elderly. Embed from Getty Images . Arguments for voluntary euthanasia end up going down the slope to involuntary euthanasia. In general form, this argument says that if we allow something relatively harmless today, we may start a trend that results in something currently unthinkable becoming accepted. Taking drugs is a slippery slope, and if you start you may find yourself addicted, which will lead to a life of dependency and pain. Racial Justice In the corporate world, the ethical slippery slope can stifle one's career and do harm to that person's reputation. For example: 1) If I loan you a dollar today then you will eventually ask me for ten dollars and then one hundred dollars. Check out this comic from Lefty Cartoons to see just how similar defenses of the status quo have been across the years. By Matthew Rozsa. For example, in discussions about legalizing marijuana for medical issues, people go down the slope when they suggest it could lead to the legalization of harder street drugs. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Lost your password? Slippery slope is one example of a fallacy. . Check out his blog and follow him on Twitter @barrydeutsch. Examples in the mass media today include but are not limited to propaganda, advertisements, politics, ... Slippery slope. The Slippery Slope argument tends to come up a lot whenever a seemingly radical proposal is put on the table — such as legalizing marijuana, euthanasia or stem cell research. BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. . Thank you! and another . In recent history, the kinds of examples of the slippery slope . A breakdown of the sequence of events: If you give James a piece, then everyone else will see [The First Step down the Slippery Slope] Then, if … In a 2002 analysis, WIlliam Safire wrote: We're asking you to join our membership program so we can become fully financially sustainable (and you'll get cool perks too!) However, it is difficult to prove or disprove the potential for a complex chain reaction. PAS supporters have generally dismissed this claim as alarmist. Please enter your username or email address. For example, people worry that if voluntary euthanasia were to be made legal, it would not be long before involuntary euthanasia would start to happen. slippery (adj.) When you begin to lie, you may find yourself on a slippery slope, lying more and to more people before you know it. Slippery Logic. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Share. Examples of Slippery Slope: If we allow the children to choose the movie this time, they are going to expect to be able to choose the school they go to or the doctors they visit. But we now depend 100% on reader support to keep going. But the roots of the pragmatic theory go back even further in history to the Sophists. NPR's Robert Siegal talks with Ilya Somin, a professor of George Mason University, about President Trump's warning that pulling down Confederate statues may lead to a slippery slope … . The slippery slope argument is used in discussing euthanasia and similar topics. Those who resort to slippery slopes like to argue that society can’t possibly change to include queer folks, Black folks, or anyone else outside of the straight, cis, white male figure — or else anything (usually horrible things) will be possible. I’ll try to find some other relevant examples! If everyone reading this only gave $12, we could raise enough money for the entire year in just one day. As such, an argument that a position is a slippery slope isn't necessarily a fallacy. Barry attended Oberlin College in Ohio in the late 1980s, the School of Visual Arts in New York City in the 1990s (where he took classes from comics legend Will Eisner), and graduated from Portland State University several years ago. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. Today, we are going to talk about 7 slippery slope fallacy examples and how to avoid them in your everyday life. An example of a slippery slope argument is the following: legalizing prostitution is undesirable because it would cause more marriages to break up, which would in turn cause the breakdown of the family, which would finally result in the destruction of civilization. Those who resort to slippery slopes like to argue that society can’t possibly change to include queer folks, Black folks, or anyone else outside of the straight, cis, white male figure — or else anything (usually horrible things) will be possible. Originally published on Lefty Cartoons and cross-posted here with their permission. Metaphoric sense of "deceitful, untrustworthy" is first recorded 1550s. Examples . Examples and Observations "To judge from the news stories, the entire nation is coming to resemble San Francisco after a heavy rainfall. Slippery slope arguments are prevalent in many fields. The slippery slope argument is an argument that a small step will or must lead to a certain chain of events. Every year, we reach over 6.5 million people around the world with our intersectional feminist articles and webinars. While issues like interracial marriage, abortion, and marriage equality are not to be conflated, the common kinds of hostile responses and other forms of resistance to them often draw upon the same faulty, status-quo-preserving logic. In a figurative sense, slippery slope is first attested 1844. There are many examples of the ethical slippery slope such as the case of Lance Armstrong where he lied for years about taking performance enhancing drugs. Who knows when or if the day will come when all generic, cookie-cutter objections to equality finally fizzle away, but hopefully in the next few decades ,the slippery slope will be put to rest once and for all. A new Ampersand comic appears in every issue of Dollars and Sense Magazine. and avoid shutting down. We're an independent feminist media site led entirely by people of color. The slippery slope fallacy is an argument that claims that if one thing happens or is allowed to happen, then that will lead to other steps and ultimately to a final outcome. An example … His current comics project is my comic book Hereville, a fantasy adventure comic about an 11-year-old Jewish girl. For example, a slippery slope argument may be used to portray a reasonable or moderate position as being extreme and dangerous. If Everyday Feminism has been useful to you, please take one minute to keep us alive. It is an argument that suggests taking a minor action will lead to major and sometimes ludicrous consequences.