Qualifying Modifiers Are Very Important - But Get Ignored Too Often

[MineralMan]

For example, if I write "Many Christians lie," or I write "Christians sometimes lie," I am neither referring to ALL Christians, nor am I saying that Christians ALWAYS lie. I have included qualifying words that limit the scope of my comments. With those qualifications included, both of my statements in quotation marks are true.

If someone ignores my qualifying words and interprets those statements to mean that all Christians lie or that Christians lie all the time, the error is not mine. The error is in the reading and understanding of what I wrote. Providing an example of a Christian telling the truth does not negate the truth of my qualified statements.

It is always important to read what others write carefully, being sure to note any qualifying words that are included. If you do not, you run the risk of generalizing from a particular instance. That is a very common logical error that gets made in this particular discussion group. That error is the cause of a great deal of misunderstanding.

[Mariana]

1. Of course, it isn't always an error.

Sometimes (<--- qualifying word here) it is done intentionally in order to construct a strawman.

[MineralMan]

2. Yes. Strawmen are constructed in large part with

generalizations from particulars. If you assemble enough of them, you can create a great, looming beast of a strawman. There have been some such lurching around here from time to time.