Welcome to r/askphilosophy ! Please read our updated rules and guidelines before commenting. Currently, answers are only accepted by panelists (mod-approved flaired users), whether those answers are posted as top-level comments or replies to other comments. Non-panelists can participate in subsequent discussion, but are not allowed to answer question(s). Want to become a panelist? Check out this post . Please note: this is a highly moderated academic Q&A subreddit and not an open discussion, debate, change-my-view, or test-my-theory subreddit. Answers from users who are not panelists will be automatically removed. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. More on reddit.com

It's called a "strawman" because a dummy made of straw is easy to knock over. And metaphorically, that's what you're doing with a "strawman argument": you're not attacking the position, you're creating a weak replica of the position that's easier to beat. One simple example of this would be: A. You argue that our country should spend less on the military. B. I counter that you want to abolish 100% of military spending. You want our country to be weak, our people to be helpless and the fate of the world left to dictators and thugs. Now, maybe that is what you think. It's not what you said. The reason I'm acting like you said that is that it's a much more extreme view—and one that you're probably going to find a lot more difficult to defend. Thus, I've made a strawman argument. More on reddit.com

In this Wireless Philosophy video, Joseph Wu (University of Cambridge) introduces you to the straw man fallacy. This fallacy is committed whenever someone misrepresents an opponent's claim in arguing against it. Thanks for watching! - WiPhi More on reddit.com