With the motte-and-bailey, I misdirect by moving between two versions of my own argument when pressed—one controversial, one uncontroversial. With the straw man, I misdirect by misrepresenting the other person's position—a caricature I create that I then attempt to take down.
They both confuse through insincerity. One's a strategy an arguer uses defensively, reactively. The other's a strategy an arguer uses preemptively, proactively.
Colloquially, the motte-and-bailey is a sort of bait-and-switch. I draw you in and then attempt to pull a fast one on you. It's not always easy to detect bait-and-switches, especially if I assume you're sincere. A straw man is much easier for the other person to spot. It's their argument that's being misrepresented after all. The difficulty there is being able to correct the record before the interview ends, which isn't all that easy when an arguer drops one straw man after the other. I see that happen on TV, when a segment is a few minutes long and two people are brought in to debate some contentious topic.
Both are misdirections but really not the same thing. Super clear now. Thanks!
Motte and Bailey seems related to a Straw Man argument. Are they one in the same?
With the motte-and-bailey, I misdirect by moving between two versions of my own argument when pressed—one controversial, one uncontroversial. With the straw man, I misdirect by misrepresenting the other person's position—a caricature I create that I then attempt to take down.
They both confuse through insincerity. One's a strategy an arguer uses defensively, reactively. The other's a strategy an arguer uses preemptively, proactively.
Colloquially, the motte-and-bailey is a sort of bait-and-switch. I draw you in and then attempt to pull a fast one on you. It's not always easy to detect bait-and-switches, especially if I assume you're sincere. A straw man is much easier for the other person to spot. It's their argument that's being misrepresented after all. The difficulty there is being able to correct the record before the interview ends, which isn't all that easy when an arguer drops one straw man after the other. I see that happen on TV, when a segment is a few minutes long and two people are brought in to debate some contentious topic.