What it sounds like
- If we allow this one exception, society will collapse.
- "If we let one person work remotely on Fridays, soon no one will ever come to the office and the printer will become CEO."
Logical fallacy
Slippery Slope
Claiming one small step will inevitably lead to disaster without proving the chain.
Classic tell: If we allow this one exception, society will collapse.
Back to the guideFurther explanation
What is happening underneath?
Claiming one small step will inevitably lead to disaster without proving the chain.
A possible consequence is treated as an inevitable avalanche. Sometimes chains of consequence are real; this fallacy skips proving the chain.
How to tell
- The argument jumps across several steps without showing why each step is likely, not merely imaginable.
Why people use it
- It converts discomfort with a small change into fear of a catastrophic future.
How to combat it
- Say: "Which step in that chain is most likely, and what evidence do we have that it follows from this decision?"
Manipulation watch
How this gets used on people.
- Politicians use it to make modest reforms sound like civilization-ending portals. Advertisers use it in reverse: miss this offer and your whole future allegedly shrinks.