Loaded question

	Cogito ergo sum; Logic and rhetoric
	Key articles
	Logical fallacy; Syllogism; Argument;
	General logic
	Coincidence; Implicit bias; Logical fallacy; Poisoning the well; Two wrongs make a right; دوگانگی مرتن;
	Bad logic
	Argumentum ad hominem; Association fallacy; Bullshit; Due diligence; Good old days; Special pleading; v - t - e

A loaded question is a logical fallacy that occurs when statements or questions are designed to confuse listeners into tacitly accepting something (which isn't obviously clear in the question) as true.

“”Springfield Police Department webpage: If you've committed a crime and you want to confess, click "YES". Otherwise, click "NO".

[Homer clicks "NO"]

Springfield Police Department webpage: You have chosen "NO", meaning you've committed a crime, but don't want to confess. A paddywagon is now speeding to your home!

—The Simpsons[1]

Alternate names

complex question
ill-posed question
fallacy of interrogation
fallacy of presupposition
fallacy of interrogative presupposition
fallacy of many questions
plurium interrogationum
surfeit of questions
trick question

Forms

Loaded questions come in two forms.

Trick questions

Trick questions force the respondent to either admit to an opinion or fact they do not share, or deny a factual premise. The most famous example of a trick question like this is: "When did you stop beating your wife?" In this form, an answer that does not directly refute the premise of the question (e.g. "I've never married" or "I've never beaten my wife.") admits the truth in it, implicitly at least.[note 1] An example of forced opinion: "So, you are going to vote for that lazy Obama?" If one says yes, they admit to Obama being lazy, if they say no, they are lying about voting. Another option would be to reply in a way that implicitly rejects the loaded language by substituting more neutral language: "I am going to vote for Obama." An example of forced fact: "So you are one of those god-denying evolutionists?" The interrogee may accept evolution, but also could be, say, a Christian.

Leading questions

Leading questions supply the answer in the question, but the following examples all consist of a statement followed by a question, invoking arguments of association such as: "Smart people have been shown to like Obama. Do you like Obama?" "It's been proven that good and righteous Christians such as you like banana cream pie; do you like banana cream pie?" While these examples are obvious, if the topic is in an area one is unfamiliar with, and the "associations" use what appear to be expert opinions, one may well be moved to agree without even realizing what one has done. Amendment 2 in Colorado was a prime example of this.[note 2] Few people understood the language of the bill, including many people in the legal profession. Polls would say to people "Experts analyzing this bill agree that it protects workers like yourself from being the victim of special rights groups. Workers all over the state are saying they feel threatened by this move, since it means someone can be hired who isn't qualified simply due to these special rights. Knowing that, and understanding how hard it is today to find a job, are you with us in our support of Amendment 2?"

Examples

"Have you admitted that evolution is not supported by the evidence?"
This question contains in it the assumption that evolution is not supported by the evidence, so answering either 'yes' or 'no' to that question could still be taken to imply that evolution is unsupported.
What proof or evidence do you have that atheism is true and correct?
Were you there?
Do you want to be descended from a monkey?

gollark: <@205756960249741312> Mind publishing the code or whatever for this? This would probably be substantially easier than trying to make my current canvas rendering code actually work.

gollark: How about it provides *one* advanced computer feature at a time but which one it is is randomly determined every bootup?

gollark: <@565075471012855820> What would "iron computers" do? Where do they fit between normal and advanced ones?

gollark: Ah, vaguely like my thing but actually functional, neat.

gollark: If it worked like actual furnaces, it should probably take less than 10 seconds.

External links

See the Wikipedia article on Complex question.
Complex Question, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy^{File:Wikipedia's W.svg}
Loaded Question, Fallacy Files
Complex Question, Stephen Downes
Your logical fallacy is loaded question, YLFI
This survey is perhaps the most textbook case

Notes

The correct answer is "mu", a Japanese word that more or less can be translated as "null", or in this case, "this question has no appropriate answer".
In 1992, Colorado voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that prohibited anti-discrimination measures protecting LBGT people. Four years later, the US Supreme Court threw it out in Romer v. Evans.

References

http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/The_Computer_Wore_Menace_Shoes

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[2] The correct answer is "mu", a Japanese word that more or less can be translated as "null", or in this case, "this question has no appropriate answer".

[3] In 1992, Colorado voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that prohibited anti-discrimination measures protecting LBGT people. Four years later, the US Supreme Court threw it out in Romer v. Evans.

[1] ttp://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/The_Computer_Wore_Menace_Shoes