Bending Argument

Crafting an argument that, while perhaps containing true premises, uses rhetorical sleight-of-hand, emotional manipulation, or procedural tricks to guide the listener to an unwarranted conclusion. It's an argument built like a funhouse mirror—the components are real, but the overall reflection is a distorted version of reality. This includes shifting burden of proof, using loaded questions, or appealing to irrelevant authority.

Example: "The lawyer bent the argument for the jury: 'My client is a family man, a volunteer, a patriot. The prosecution wants you to believe this pillar of the community suddenly became a criminal. Can you live with that doubt?' He bent the argument away from evidence and toward a narrative about the prosecution's character." Bending Argument

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Argument Forging

Manufacturing a complete argument from whole cloth, including fabricated evidence, invented experts, or fake citations. This is the creation of a persuasive narrative with no connection to reality, designed to be deployed as a ready-made rhetorical weapon. It's counterfeiting an entire case file for a trial that will never see a real judge.

Example: "She forged an argument against the development by citing a 'landmark study from the MIT Urban Planning Journal' that didn't exist, quoting a 'leading ecologist' she made up, and referencing local aquifer data she'd completely invented. Her argument was a compelling fiction, meticulously fabricated to sway the town council." Argument Forging

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Argument Crafting

The skillful assembly of a persuasive argument by artfully selecting, framing, and connecting real (but often cherry-picked or decontextualized) pieces of evidence, appeals, and rhetorical moves. The craft lies in the arrangement and presentation, leading the audience down a specific path of thought while minimizing exposure to contradictory information. It's not making up the bricks, but building a wall that only shows their best side.

Example: "The prosecutor crafted her closing argument like a novelist. She took ambiguous text messages and crafted a story of premeditation, used the defendant's calm demeanor as evidence of a sociopathic lack of remorse, and sequenced the exhibits for maximum emotional narrative. It was less a presentation of facts and more a guided tour through a version of reality she had constructed." Argument Crafting

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Perfect Argument Fallacy

The mistaken belief that only arguments that are flawless in every respect—logically valid, empirically supported, rhetorically perfect, immune to all objections—deserve consideration. This fallacy rejects all human communication as insufficiently perfect, leaving only silence. The perfect argument fallacy is beloved of those who don't want to engage, who use impossible standards to dismiss any position they dislike. It's the logic of "your argument isn't perfect, therefore I don't have to consider it." The cure is recognizing that perfection is not the standard; adequacy is. Arguments are tools for understanding, not museum pieces for aesthetic evaluation.

Perfect Argument Fallacy Example: "He demanded her argument be perfect—no logical gaps, no empirical uncertainties, no rhetorical flaws. She pointed out that no argument meets that standard, including his own. He said that proved her argument was weak. The perfect argument fallacy had made dialogue impossible. She stopped talking; he declared victory."

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 17, 2026