Card 5 of 24 · Weak Induction
Fallacia consequentiae (in chain form)
Turning a small hill into a cliff.
Arguing that one step will inevitably lead to disaster without proving the chain of events.
Example
“If we add one more trail sign, next thing you know every tree in the forest will have a placard.”
No single classical name. It is often treated as a chained non causa pro causa, sometimes combined with argumentum ad consequentiam (appealing to bad outcomes).
Diagnosis: The chain is valid in form (hypothetical syllogism), but each link is asserted with near-certainty when it is merely possible. Small probabilities multiply; a long chain of “might” rarely yields “will.”
“If we read Genesis 1 as non-literal, soon nobody will believe in the resurrection.” Augustine read Genesis non-literally and affirmed the resurrection — the chain doesn’t hold.
“Allowing any end-of-life sedation leads inevitably to involuntary euthanasia.” A real concern, but the argument needs evidence of how institutions actually move along that path.
“Once you question divine impassibility, you’ll end up in process theology.” Many open theists and classical theists hold intermediate positions.
Trail recovery
Slippery-slope worries are sometimes legitimate. Ask for evidence at each link, and look for a principled stopping point (a “guardrail”) that would prevent the slide.
Try saying: “Which step in that chain do you think is most likely — and is there a principled place we could stop?”
Keep questioning. Keep exploring.