Red herrings
Red herrings (distractions)
This category describes various rhetorical devices that serve to distract from the actual topic of a discussion.
These include, in particular, ad Hominem arguments, which attack the person presenting an argument rather than coming up with factual counterarguments against the opponents argumentation.
Name
Other names
- Distraction techniques
- Change of topic
Origins of the name
The term “red herring” refers to a kind of marinated fish that was used in training scent hounds. Their trainer would taint a scent trail with the pungent smelling food in order to teach them not to be distracted.
Description
There are many reasons why a participant in a discussion may seek to divert attention from the subject at hand. In most cases, this should not necessarily be interpreted as ill intent, but rather as an attempt to further the conversation or to move on to a topic to which they can contribute more. Inexperienced debaters in particular tend to jump from one topic to another without ever finishing any of them.
However, there are also unfair ways to distract from the topic. These are discussed in the following articles:
-
- Insults (“ad Personam”)
- Insinuations (“circumstantial ad Hominem”)
Also, different defeasible arguments and unfair discussion tactics can sometimes be used as a diversionary tactic. These include:
- Fallacy-fallacy (“ad Logicam”)
See also
More information
- Red herring on Wikipedia