Summary
The fallacy I selected is the slippery slope. A slippery slope occurs when it is assumed that a certain action or choice would set off a series of unfavourable outcomes. Basically, it is speculating about a potential future based on a single choice or occurrence.
An example of a slippery slope is when my mom said to me, "You will fail the class if you don't perform well on this one test. and if you fail the test you will fail the class and you won't be admitted to a reputable college and therefore you won't land a good job. Without a good career, you'll become homeless and live on the streets." This is a slippery slope because one problem leads to an assumption of many problems to come and it doesn't necessarily come true, failing a test doesn't mean you automatically fail in life.
By Allen Liu
2 thoughts on “Slippery Slope Fallacy”
Hello,
I agree with you that failing an exam does not automatically mean you fail in life. Many Chinese mothers believe that grades are everything and they want their children to achieve excellent grades from an early age. They think that life is like dominoes, make one mistake and the whole thing will fail, so having good grades means getting into a good school, having a good job, and having a good salary. In short, we should be cautious about slippery slopes and should focus on a realistic and rational approach to decision making rather than making assumptions about the future based on a single event.
I believe most of us definitely fall under this fallacy. In my culture education is taken highly so my parents definitely pulled this card about three or four times plus. Also, in the military they teach you attention to details so they would implant in your mind if you fail in one small thing you fail when ever your in battle.