Also called:
- Appeal To Mockery
- The Horse Laugh
- Reductio ad ridiculum
A simplistic fallacy in which it is suggested an argument is false by presenting it in a way in which it appears absurd. This often dovetails into
Strawman Fallacy or
Appeal To Ignorance.
"Queen Alice is using what some may call a
cruel and unusual tool to break the resistance of rebel prisoners. I bet many parents would agree! Some are being forced to listen to
Barney & Friends sing the "I Love You" song. I think after an hour of that they’ll spill the beans, don’t you?"
If you can
mentally picture being locked into a dark room, forced to listen to the "I Love You" song for even an hour (let alone 24/7), it's actually a
pretty terrifying prospect. As is such, we can see that stating something in a way that makes it seem nonsensical does not necessarily mean it
is nonsensical.
This fallacy differs from
reductio ad absurdum, a legitimate debating technique; there, it is demonstrated that an absurd conclusion naturally follows from the underlying logic of an opponent's argument, therefore showing the argument as invalid. Also, just because an argument uses ridicule does not mean it runs afoul of this trope. A person who delivers a withering, logically sound counterattack in a mocking, rude manner is being a jerk. If the argument is still sound, it stands regardless of how insulting the phrasing is.
In terms of tropes, this fallacy often coincides with
Too Funny to Be Evil, where an evil character can use this fallacy to get a laugh out of the uneducated masses while dismissing the hero.
Examples:
