Wednesday, May 11, 2011

What is JAQing Off?

JAQing off is one of my favorite logical fallacies. To JAQ means to "just ask questions." Basically, it's when someone asks rhetorical questions in an effort to undermine an argument without actually proving that argument wrong. It's meant to be subversive and cloud an issue. Glenn Beck is great at doing this. He can shout down people and subvert the argument in a blaze of JAQing off and chalk dust. Examples are:


  1. If you are such a nice a person, why don't you believe in the existence God?
  2. Why don't you think we should have safe vaccines?
  3. What do you have against people having a say what goes into their body?
  4. Isn't it true that "Darwinists" believe that it's OK to sleep with farm animals

Questions like these are meant to put you on the defensive, making you pay more attention to the allegations the person is laying against you than their own arguments. All in the guise of "just asking harmless questions."

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