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Prosecution Bias

A specific form of Accusation Bias where one approaches debate like a prosecutor approaching a defendant—assuming guilt, seeking evidence of wrongdoing, and interpreting all responses through the lens of culpability. Prosecution Bias doesn't seek truth; it seeks conviction. The opponent isn't a fellow seeker; they're the accused. Every statement is scanned for admission of guilt, every question is cross-examination, every response is evidence of something. The bias transforms dialogue into trial—with the prosecutor as judge, jury, and executioner.
"She tried to explain her position, but he just kept asking 'yes or no' questions designed to corner her. Prosecution Bias: not understanding, but convicting. He wasn't there to learn; he was there to win a case. The problem is, she didn't know she was on trial—and he didn't care."
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Projection of Bias

A cognitive bias where one projects the accusation of bias onto others while remaining blind to one's own biases—assuming that bias is something others have, not something that affects everyone. Projection of bias operates when someone says "you're biased" as a conversation-stopper, never acknowledging their own situatedness; when they analyze everyone else's motivations while assuming their own are transparent; when they treat bias as a flaw that only opponents possess. The projection lies in the blindness to self—the assumption that one occupies a privileged position outside the fray, that one's own perceptions are clear while others' are distorted. It's the meta-bias: the bias of thinking oneself unbiased.
Example: "He could list every bias his opponents had but had never examined his own assumptionsprojection of bias, treating bias as something others have while remaining invisible to himself."