Consider a X that is bad for reasons R1, R2 and R3. R1 and R2 are really strong, while R3 is quite minor.
Consider an atypical case of X, A, which has only the reasons R1 and R2. Saying “A is X” doesn’t do much harm. The real reasons for which you reject X (R1 and R2) are present in A, so saying “A is X so A is wrong” is acceptable.
Now consider another atypical case of X, B, which only share R3. Saying “B is X so B is wrong” is using the emotional power of the horror of R1 and R2, which B doesn’t have, against B, just because B can be said to be part of a cluster in which the typical elements have it. That’s a really fishy argumentation. That’s what Yvain called “the worst argument in the world”, because it’s wrong but convincing, and very hard to counter in a debate (it requires deconstructing “why is X is bad”, extracting R1, R2, R3, showing that B only shares R3, so may be slightly bad, but not nearly as much a typical X).
Let’s analyze the first one : “Having sex with an passed out stranger is rape.”
Rape is very bad, I hope we all agree with that. Why is rape bad ? It’s bad for many reasons. Some of the reasons (that it violates people’s freedom of choice, that there are risks of pregnancy and STD, that it humiliates the victim, …) hold for “having sex with a passed out stranger”. Some other of the reasons against the typical rape (that it involves violence and threats, inflicts pain and fear on the victim, …) may not apply for “having sex with a passed out stranger”. Depending which of the two sets of reasons are you true rejection of rape, it’s the WAitW or not.
But the main point is that “Having sex with an passed out stranger is rape.” is not the reason why “having sex with a passed out stranger” is a bad thing to do. The reasons why it’s a bad thing is because it doesn’t respect the person’s freedom of choice, because it risks exposing her (or him) to danger of STD/pregnancy without her consent, because it’s likely to humiliate her, … Those are the real justifications of why it’s wrong.
If you state your position as “Having sex with an passed out stranger is rape.” it’s very to argue if you’re right or wrong about saying it’s bad thing to do. First we are stuck with the emotional weight of seeing a woman crying of fear and pain while her rapist rapes her violently a knife under her throat, which is not how “having sex with an passed out stranger” occurs, and then we’ll end up engulfed into a debate about the definition of “rape” which is completely barren. If you give the real reasons then we can argue for each of them how bad they are, and we can end up knowing how bad “having sex with an passed out stranger” is.
“A is an X” is a valid argument for a lawyer in court, because law has to be written in words. But it’s not a valid argument (and can lead to people making wrong conclusions) in a moral/political debate.
Consider a X that is bad for reasons R1, R2 and R3. R1 and R2 are really strong, while R3 is quite minor.
Consider an atypical case of X, A, which has only the reasons R1 and R2. Saying “A is X” doesn’t do much harm. The real reasons for which you reject X (R1 and R2) are present in A, so saying “A is X so A is wrong” is acceptable.
Now consider another atypical case of X, B, which only share R3. Saying “B is X so B is wrong” is using the emotional power of the horror of R1 and R2, which B doesn’t have, against B, just because B can be said to be part of a cluster in which the typical elements have it. That’s a really fishy argumentation. That’s what Yvain called “the worst argument in the world”, because it’s wrong but convincing, and very hard to counter in a debate (it requires deconstructing “why is X is bad”, extracting R1, R2, R3, showing that B only shares R3, so may be slightly bad, but not nearly as much a typical X).
Let’s analyze the first one : “Having sex with an passed out stranger is rape.”
Rape is very bad, I hope we all agree with that. Why is rape bad ? It’s bad for many reasons. Some of the reasons (that it violates people’s freedom of choice, that there are risks of pregnancy and STD, that it humiliates the victim, …) hold for “having sex with a passed out stranger”. Some other of the reasons against the typical rape (that it involves violence and threats, inflicts pain and fear on the victim, …) may not apply for “having sex with a passed out stranger”. Depending which of the two sets of reasons are you true rejection of rape, it’s the WAitW or not.
But the main point is that “Having sex with an passed out stranger is rape.” is not the reason why “having sex with a passed out stranger” is a bad thing to do. The reasons why it’s a bad thing is because it doesn’t respect the person’s freedom of choice, because it risks exposing her (or him) to danger of STD/pregnancy without her consent, because it’s likely to humiliate her, … Those are the real justifications of why it’s wrong.
If you state your position as “Having sex with an passed out stranger is rape.” it’s very to argue if you’re right or wrong about saying it’s bad thing to do. First we are stuck with the emotional weight of seeing a woman crying of fear and pain while her rapist rapes her violently a knife under her throat, which is not how “having sex with an passed out stranger” occurs, and then we’ll end up engulfed into a debate about the definition of “rape” which is completely barren. If you give the real reasons then we can argue for each of them how bad they are, and we can end up knowing how bad “having sex with an passed out stranger” is.
“A is an X” is a valid argument for a lawyer in court, because law has to be written in words. But it’s not a valid argument (and can lead to people making wrong conclusions) in a moral/political debate.