Logical Errors

Logical Dodges

Trick Question

The ploy of the trick question attempts to put the respondent in a logical dilemma in which he will discredit himself no matter how he answers. The age old joke questions like "Do you still beat your wife?" and "Are you still drinking as heavily as you used to?" illustrate the logical trap effect of the trick question, also known to logicians as the complex question. On a radio interview show, a news writer asked a political figure, "Mr. X, you were recently quoted as saying you favor the ABC bill. Are you being inconsistent in your position on this matter or have you simply compromised with White House for your own convenience?" Other forms of the complex question, perhaps of less practical interest, include linguistic riddles or possible questions like "If God can do anything, can he make a stone big enough that He himself can't lift it?" Another classical example of this kind of sophism is the ancient trick statement made by the Cretan that "All Cretans are liars." If you think about the statement and its underlying concept, you have trouble making it "hold still." These logical curiosities form an entire subject of study for some theorists. I've never lost much sleep over them, myself.

Parent Topics:

Map of Logical Errors