A field guide to the ways reasoning breaks
Distraction and distortion
Also called Bait and switch defence
Advancing a strong controversial claim, then retreating to a modest one when challenged.
I only meant the modest claim, not the strong one I was defending.
Write both versions down and ask which one is being asserted.
Coined by philosopher Nicholas Shackel in a 2005 paper, named after the medieval castle: the bailey is the desirable but hard-to-defend courtyard, the motte the dreary but impregnable tower. The arguer enjoys the bailey in good times and retreats to the motte under attack.
A tech executive tells investors the product will 'end traditional banking'; grilled by a journalist, he says he only meant it offers a handy budgeting tool.
An influencer posts that modern medicine 'cures nothing'; challenged by doctors, she clarifies she just thinks people should eat more vegetables.
A councillor tells a rally the new development 'will destroy the neighbourhood'; at the planning hearing she says she merely worries about parking pressure.
A podcaster claims a rival's research is 'fraudulent, not just wrong'; pressed for evidence, he retreats to 'well, I question his methodology'.