Arguments within a Gish gallop - Deepstash

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Arguments within a Gish gallop

When responding to specific arguments within a Gish gallop, you can use certain techniques to respond effectively to the flawed arguments.

  • When someone states there is support for their stance, you can ask your opponent to list the specific evidence they claim support their view.
  • When responding to generalised claims, show that they contradict the scientific consensus on the topic.

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Calling out the use of the Gish gallop

Regardless of which technique you use, you can generally point out that your opponent is using the Gish gallop, especially if you need to explain why you cannot provide a full, point-by-point rebuttal.

Explain how your opponent is using this technique and why it is problem...

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How to respond to Gish gallops

  • Full rebuttal. Go over every point made by your opponent, and refute each of them individually.
  • Sample-based rebuttal. Select a representative sample of your opponent's arguments, either randomly or based on some criteria, then refute only those a...

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The strength of the Gish gallop technique

This technique's strength is that it frames the course of the debate and can create a false appearance of credibility and control.

  • Because it gives an advantage to the Gish galloper, your best course of action is to avoid playing their game.

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How the Gish gallop is implemented

  • In live debates, a person using the Gish gallop will fire off arguments one after another to attempt to overwhelm the opponent.
  • In online discussions, Gish gallopers will list a large number of sources that supposedly support their stance. They wil...

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Who uses Gish gallops and why

The Gish gallop technique is used for two main reasons:

  1. It is often easier to raise weak arguments than it is to refute them.
  2. People generally prefer simple arguments and not complex refutations. The Gish gallop often contains these arg...

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Examples of Gish gallops

A classic example is when a proponent of some pseudoscience bombards an expert with many weak arguments and start a new argument each time the expert successfully refute one of them.

But Gish gallops also appear in less formal contexts. E.g., someone who w...

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The Gish gallop

The Gish gallop

It is a rhetorical technique that involves overwhelming your opponent with numerous vague arguments, with no regard for accuracy, validity, or relevance of those arguments.

The Gish gallop is a misleading rhetorical technique, rather than a logical fallacy...

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History of the Gish gallop

The Gish gallop technique was first known by names such as 'argument by verbosity', 'proof by verbosity', and 'shotgun argumentation.'

Professor Eugenie Scott used the term 'Gish gallop' to describe the debate technique of Duane Gish, a Yo...

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The Gish gallop and logical fallacies

Arguments in a Gish gallop often contain various logical fallacies, such as the strawman fallacy which attacks a fabricated argument, or appeals to nature, which claims something is good because it is perceived as natural.

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How the Gish gallop is implemented

  • In live debates, a person using the Gish gallop will fire off arguments one after another to attempt to overwhelm the opponent.
  • In online discussions, Gish gallopers will list a large number of sources that supposedly support their stance. They wil...

Don't Simply Ignore Extraordinarily Claims

Overall, the concept of ECREE does not mean that claims that contradict the current scientific consensus should always be ignored, or that claims that support the consensus should be automatically accepted. Rather, ECREE simply suggests that the likelihood that a certain claim is true, b...

Hollow man arguments

This is a weak case (similar to the Straw man arguments) attributed to a non-existent group: Someone will fabricate a viewpoint that is easy to contradict, then claim it was made by a group they disagree with. Arguing against an opponent which doesn’t exist is a pretty easy way to win any deb...

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