🚀 go-pugleaf

Peter Merel <pete@zip.com.au> writes:

> 
> >What's next to be found dispensable, do you think?  The psychiatrist's
> >signature?  The specialist's signature?  How about the patient's
> >signature?
> 
> Welcome to the wonderful world of "the slippery slope". A time-honoured
> logical fallacy, its uses are many and varied. You may, for example,

Mr Merel consistently confuses this which is obviously a moral "slippery
slope" with a logical one which is indeed a fallacy.

> use the same logic to demonstrate that all sex will become rape, that

Employ force and some "sex" acts are rape. 

> all dogs will become wolves, and that all light will become darkness. In

Dogs becoming wolves involves a genetic change, a better analogy is dogs
can become feral after all we are talking about human beings becoming
desensitised not turning into neanderthals.  Turn the lights of or let
day change to night and where you once had light you have darkness.

> this particular debate, the use of "the slippery slope" appears to be a
> standard in the pro-torture armanentarium. I'd suggest, for the sake
> of credibility, you avoid it in future.

No need to avoid it Mr Merel is wrong.  The logical "slippery slope"
arguments lead to a paradox i.e. "light = darkness", "dogs are wolves" 
and "all sex is rape",  the moral "slippery slope" involving changes in
human attitude does not.

Jan