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Many Questions Fallacy
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Also called: Complex Question Loaded Question Interrogation Fallacy Fallacy of Presupposition Demanding a Simple Answer to a Complex Question The interrogative version of Begging the Question, the Many Questions Fallacy occurs where a question is asked that assumes the answer to one or more additional questions, and a demand is made that it be answered without qualifiers. The classic example is "have you stopped beating your wife? Answer Yes or No!" — The question assumes a positive answer to an unstated second question ("have you ever beaten your wife?"); as a result, if you answer "Yes" you are admitting that you used to beat her, but if you answer "No" you are admitting that you still beat her. A qualified answer such as "I haven't stopped because I never did", or "I have never beaten my wife" is not accepted, and the interrogator may accuse the respondent with dodging the question. A similar situation occurs if the person asked has never even been married; "I've never been married" is not accepted as an answer even though it is by far the most truthful answer to give. An even more devious version of this fallacy is to make the accusations in such a way as to preempt the subject from being able to give any simple rebuttal. To return to the classic example of domestic abuse, "When did you stop beating your wife?" forces the subject to counter both the assumption that he has beaten his wife, and that he has been beating his wife for some time. To complicate matters further, asking "When are you going to stop beating your wife?" casually assumes that he has beaten his wife, has been beating his wife, and is still beating her now, thus loading three accusations into one question, all of which can be difficult to answer in the time-limited formats such as during a political debate or in a press conference with hostile reporters seeking quick soundbites. (Not to mention, as stated above, the question of whether the person being accused of beating his wife is or has even been married.) Looks like this fallacy but is not: When the question includes an assumption which is regarded as uncontroversial. For example, "Where were you last night, sir?" assumes the person being questioned to be male, but is not fallacious unless the person's gender is actually in question. It also assumes that there was, in fact, a last night, and that the person being questioned existed at that time and was in some location, but these are also not generally questionable assumptions. Note that the term "loaded question" terminology is often confused with a leading question, that is, a question that invites a particular answer. The two are not at all synonymous: "You like chocolate, don't you?" is a leading question (in that it invites a "yes"), but not loaded (because answering "no" doesn't imply anything other than not liking chocolate). On the other hand, "Do you still beat your wife?" isn't leading (since the question doesn't suggest an answer). Compare Morton's Fork, where two or more choices all lead to the same outcome. |
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The Simpsons: "The Bart-Mangled Banner" has the family being accused of being unpatriotic but, when given the chance to clarify, are asked loaded questions such as, "Which part of America do you hate the most?" There is no "correct answer", since naming any part allows the assumption that you hate the other parts too, just not as much. "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes" showed the Springfield Police Department official website, whose front page says "If you committed a crime and you wish to confess, click 'Yes'. Otherwise click 'No'". If you click 'No', the site assumes you committed a crime but don't wish to confess and dispatches a police car to your house. |
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In one episode when Darkwing Duck was trying to clean up his image, Negaduck sabotaged him at a press conference by asking him a series of these, such as whether he'd stopped digging pot holes and scaring children. That someone (almost certainly Negaduck himself, he being Darkwing Duck's Evil Twin) had been doing all of these things made responding to these accusations that much more difficult for Darkwing. | |
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Community: Pierce's (posthumous) first questions for Britta at his bequeathal: | |
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This can sometimes be used to brand someone a traitor in Paranoia - simply ask "Are you a happy communist?" If they say no, they're saying they're not happy, which is treason. But if they say yes, then they're saying they're a communist, which is also treason. This can backfire, however; if the Computer doesn't buy your interpretation, then you've just accused them of being a traitor without proof, which is itself treasonous. | |
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Demonstrated in issue #1 of Paranoia: | |
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Broadchurch lawyer and Hate Sink Sharon Bishop asks Ellie how long had she been having an affair with DI Hardy. Ellie, not unnaturally, goes "What?" and is told that she is under oath, and how long was that affair again? There are not enough words to express how much real lawyers are not allowed to do this. | |
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In Freefall, Florence asks Helix, a robot, a question to give his self preservation routine a real test: "Does this dress make me look fat?" Helix immediately runs away screaming, leading Florence to state, impressed, that she's met humans with far worse survival responses. | |
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In Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid, Greg slips Rowley a note asking if he's embarrassed about wetting the bed. Rowley just answers no and Greg has to explain the joke. | |
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Arthur: In "D.W., Queen of the Comeback", D.W. can't think of a good comeback when she's insulted about her bad new haircut. She blames Arthur for not teaching her any good ones, saying, "What do you say when you get teased for being boring?" Of course, this assumes that he does get teased for it, which Arthur protests against. | |
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The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad: During Mr. Toad's trial, the prosecutor barrages Toad's friends with loaded questions, demanding yes-or-no answers, and once they answer yes or no, he dismisses them before they can elaborate further. | |
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In Daddy's Little Girls, the protagonist is asked "Did you or did you not go to jail for rape?". He did, but it turns out that the underlying assumption - that he actually committed the rape that he was convicted of - was false. | |
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Whispered Tribulation: Aizawa attempts to hijack Naomasa's interrogation of Izuku this way, having convinced himself that Izuku must be The Mole and determined to badger him into 'confessing'. Thankfully, Naomasa and Principal Nedzu are having none of it, to the point that Nedzu tases him in the thigh when he refuses to stop. | |
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As the guests on it would attest verbally, some questions on the game show Tattletales fall into the "have you stopped beating your wife?" line. | |
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In Ultima VII, the leader of the local Church of Happyology administers a personality test when you discuss joining. It's full of loaded questions that allow him to conclude you have serious emotional problems no matter how you answer. | |
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Used in the Family Guy episode "Screwed the Pooch," which doubles as an example of False Dichotomy. | |
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