Slippery Slope Fallacy Examples in Media, Real Life, Politics, Movies & Ads

Slippery Slope Fallacy

What is Slippery Slope Fallacy?

The Slippery Slope Fallacy believes that if we do A, it will lead to Z.  It is a type of argument that suggests one event will lead to another. The first event, which is usually undesirable, leads to the second event, which is also undesirable.

The slippery Slope Fallacy claim assumes that if we do not stop the first event from happening, it will inevitably lead to the second bad thing happening. This fallacy is created when someone expects that if a small change happens, bigger changes will follow.

It is used to describe the process of a situation or argument in which the majority of the time will result in an unfavorable outcome. It can also happen when someone thinks that if someone else does something, we will be forced to do the same as well.

The Slippery Slope Fallacy is one of the oldest and most common in human reasoning. The fallacy is usually defined as follows:

“A first step on the slippery slope inevitably leads to the next.”

It is a reasoning pattern in which a person assumes that a small, negligible action or detail will lead to an inevitable consequence and then tries to persuade others not to take any action or not to support any proposition because all will be forced to do the same as well.

Slippery slope fallacies occur when people assume that if something happens, then something else will happen directly after without taking into account the numerous factors that could intervene.

For example, if one person smokes marijuana, then another person will follow suit. The two events are not directly related. For example, one may smoke marijuana because they enjoy its physical or psychological effects. Another may smoke to show the first that the first doesn’t have to break the law to see the effects of the drug.

Slippery Slope Fallacy Examples

The slippery slope fallacy is the idea that if one event happens, then a second event will inevitably follow.  The first step on the slippery slope is often something very small and innocent- for example;

Someone might say that legalizing marijuana would lead to more people using harder drugs.  But once you legalize it, you can’t control how much people use it or what they do with it.

Slippery Slope Fallacy Examples in Philosophy

Examples of Slippery Slope Fallacy in Philosophy: 

For example, if we allow people to drink alcohol on Sundays, they’ll start drinking every day which could have negative effects on their health and relationships.

Slippery Slope Fallacy Real Life Examples

Examples of Slippery Slope Fallacy in Real Life: 

The Slippery Slope Fallacy is the idea that if event X happens, events Y, Z, and W will also happen as a result. The fallacy is a form of Reductio ad Absurdum because it argues that if event X happens, it will conclude that events Y, Z, and W will happen as well.

This argument is labeled as a fallacy because the conclusion does not follow from the premise.

Slippery Slope Fallacy Examples in Media

Examples of Slippery Slope Fallacy in media: 

When a person is being interviewed and is asked about their opinion on something controversial, the interviewer will often ask them to explain why they believe what they do.

The person might say that if you allow gay marriage, then next it’ll be polygamy or incestuous relationships.

This is an example of a slippery slope fallacy because there’s no logical connection between allowing gay marriage and legalizing other types of relationships like polygamy or incestuous marriages.

Slippery Slope Fallacy Examples in Advertising

Examples of Slippery Slope Fallacy in advertising :

The slippery slope fallacy is the idea that if you do one thing, then it will lead to another and then another until eventually, you have done something really bad. This type of fallacy can be seen in advertising when a company tries to convince people to buy their product by telling them that they might need it down the line.

 For example, an advertisement for a car might say, “You’ll never know what life throws at you,” implying that if someone doesn’t buy this car now, they may end up needing a bigger vehicle later on.

Slippery Slope Fallacy Examples in Politics

Examples of Slippery Slope Fallacy in Politics :

An example of this type of fallacy is stated as:

“If we allow gay marriage, then soon enough, we will allow gay marriage with animals.”

The conclusion made by this argument is incorrect as it does not state that homosexuality is wrong; it simply states that if you allow one point of view, then you also have to allow another point of time.

Slippery Slope Fallacy in Movies

Examples of Slippery Slope Fallacy in Movies :

The movie “The Dark Knight” is an example of the slippery slope fallacy.

In the movie, Batman first starts out as a vigilante who punishes criminals for their crimes. Then he becomes more violent and eventually takes over Gotham City with his own army of police officers in order to stop crime altogether.

This is an example because it shows how one small change can lead to another big change, leading to another big change until you have no control over what happens next or where it will end up going.

Slippery Slope Fallacy in Literature

Examples of Slippery Slope Fallacy in Literature :

In the novel “The Great Gatsby,” Jay Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy Buchanan is a slippery slope fallacy because it leads to his death.

The protagonist in “The Catcher in the Rye” falls into this fallacy when he becomes obsessed with Sally and neglects his education.

This type of fallacy can be seen in many other works of literature, such as Shakespeare’s “King Lear.”

Slippery Slope Fallacy in News

Examples of Slippery Slope Fallacy in News :

• The idea that if we legalize marijuana, then the next step is legalizing all drugs.
• If we raise taxes on cigarettes, then people will start buying them illegally.
•  We should ban guns because, one day, they could be used to kill someone.