In the context of rhetorical analysis, the term pooh-pooh refers to a fallacy in informal logic that consists of dismissing an argument as being unworthy of serious consideration.[1] Scholars generally characterize the fallacy as a rhetorical device in which the speaker ridicules an argument without responding to the substance of the argument.[2] It has been characterized as a form of a straw man fallacy, where an argument is described as inherently worthless or undeserving of serious attention.[3] Some authors have also described the fallacy as the act of "ridicul[ing]" an argument as though it were "a myth",[4] and some characterize it as the act of dismissing an argument "with insults without responding to its substance in any way".[2] Other authors describe the fallacy as the act of dismissing an argument "with the wave of a hand".[5] Some sources also suggest the fallacy is an expression that involves "sneer[ing]",[5] "ridicule",[1] or "malicious comments about the proponent of the argument".[2] Some authors also suggest the term originated as a "representation of the act of spitting in sign of contemptuous rejection".[6] There is no evidence of a relationship with the slang word for feces.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Munson, Ronald; Black, Andrew (2016). The Elements of Reasoning. Cengage Learning. p. 257. ISBN 1305886836.
  2. 1 2 3 Virginia Tech Intellectual Prop. (1999). Language and Logic. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. p. 119. ISBN 0787262439.
  3. ↑ See, e.g., Munson, Ronald; Black, Andrew (2016). The Elements of Reasoning. Cengage Learning. pp. 149, 257. ISBN 1305886836.
  4. ↑ Dwight, Joyce Ingle (1976). Is It Really So?: A Guide to Clear Thinking. Westminster Press. p. 115. ISBN 0664247830.
  5. 1 2 Stanley, Maurice (2002). Logic and Controversy. Wadsworth. p. 98. ISBN 0534573789.
  6. ↑ Wedgwood, Hensleigh (1859). Dictionary of English Etymology, Vol. 1. p. xiv. ISBN 9781230255484.
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