Dismissive statement
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About
A dismissive statement is any statement which negates the value of an opposing argument without actually addressing any of its substance.
Although it is not actually a valid form of argument, it is frequently phrased in such a way that it might be mistaken for one; this usage is a form of rhetorical deception.
Argument by collective dismissal is an especially severe form of this, in which multiple points are dismissed as a group without any of them being addressed.
Types
- argument from irrelevance: "I don't see how that's relevant." when the original argument has specifically named one or more points of relevance
- argument from unimportance: "There are more important things to worry about."
- argument by contradiction: "No, you're wrong." "I don't accept that hypothesis."
- argument from overabundance: "You have too many points, I can't address them all." -- so I'm not going to address any of them.
Phrases
Real-world Usage
- "We don't find any persuasive, affirmative evidence that this is true.", when in fact evidence has been presented. (Philip Zelikow)
Query
Possibly this is a form of incomplete argument. Are there other types, or does "incomplete argument" generally boil down to "dismissal"?