Slippery Slope
One step does not prove a chain of disasters.
What it is
A slippery slope says one step will trigger a chain of worse steps, with no evidence for the chain.
Each link needs its own proof. The argument skips all of it and rides the fear of the final step.
An LSAT-style example
This example is original. It is not a real LSAT question.
If the school allows phones at lunch, students will use them in class, then during tests, and cheating will take over the school.
The flaw: No evidence connects allowing phones at lunch to cheating taking over. Each step is assumed, not shown.
How to spot it on test day
- Watch for chains: 'this will lead to,' 'then,' 'before long.'
- Ask: what evidence supports each link, not just the first and last?
- The final step is usually dramatic. Drama is not evidence.
The right answer vs. the trap
The right answer
The correct answer says the argument assumes a chain of consequences without evidence for the links.
The trap
The trap may argue the first step is harmless or harmful. The flaw is the unproven chain, not the first step.
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