Can you outsmart the slippery slope fallacy? - Elizabeth Cox episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 10, 2026 · 10 MIN

Can you outsmart the slippery slope fallacy? - Elizabeth Cox

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Dig into the slippery slope fallacy, which assumes that one step will lead to a series of events that lead to an extreme— often bad— scenario.--It’s 1954. Vietnamese nationalists are on the verge of securing an independent Vietnam under communist leader Ho Chi Minh. U.S. President Eisenhower claims that by virtue of the "falling domino principle," communist control of Vietnam would lead to the global spread of authoritarian communist regimes. Can you spot the problem with this argument? Elizabeth Cox explores the slippery slope fallacy.Lesson by Elizabeth Cox, directed by TOGETHER. Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-outsmart-the-slippery-slope-fallacy-elizabeth-coxDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-outsmart-the-slippery-slope-fallacy-elizabeth-cox#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://wearetogether.ca----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Heather Slater, Yuh Saito, Fabian Amels, Sandra Tersluisen, Zhexi Shan, Bárbara Nazaré, Andrea Feliz, Victor E Karhel, Sydney Evans, Latora Slydell, Noel Situ, emily lam, Sid , Kent Logan, Alexandra Panzer, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Courtney Marcott, Anna-Alicia Brooks, Mustafa, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Juan Pablo Rodriguez Morales, ANNE FINE, Gerardo Castro, Siddharth Toshniwal, Justice Boehmer, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX BISIAUX, Aravind C V, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, LvL042, Abdulmohsin Almadi, Andrew Brodski, John van den Berg, Anandha Krishnan, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Christopher McVay and Izhari Ishak Aksa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dig into the slippery slope fallacy, which assumes that one step will lead to a series of events that lead to an extreme— often bad— scenario.--It’s 1954. Vietnamese nationalists are on the verge of securing an independent Vietnam under communist leader Ho Chi Minh. U.S. President Eisenhower claims that by virtue of the "falling domino principle," communist control of Vietnam would lead to the global spread of authoritarian communist regimes. Can you spot the problem with this argument? Elizabeth Cox explores the slippery slope fallacy.Lesson by Elizabeth Cox, directed by TOGETHER. Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-outsmart-the-slippery-slope-fallacy-elizabeth-coxDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-outsmart-the-slippery-slope-fallacy-elizabeth-cox#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://wearetogether.ca----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Heather Slater, Yuh Saito, Fabian Amels, Sandra Tersluisen, Zhexi Shan, Bárbara Nazaré, Andrea Feliz, Victor E Karhel, Sydney Evans, Latora Slydell, Noel Situ, emily lam, Sid , Kent Logan, Alexandra Panzer, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Courtney Marcott, Anna-Alicia Brooks, Mustafa, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Juan Pablo Rodriguez Morales, ANNE FINE, Gerardo Castro, Siddharth Toshniwal, Justice Boehmer, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX BISIAUX, Aravind C V, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, LvL042, Abdulmohsin Almadi, Andrew Brodski, John van den Berg, Anandha Krishnan, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Christopher McVay and Izhari Ishak Aksa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Can you outsmart the slippery slope fallacy? - Elizabeth Cox

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Dig into the slippery slope fallacy, which assumes that one step will lead to a series of events that lead to an extreme— often bad— scenario.--It’s 1954. Vietnamese nationalists are on the verge of securing an independent Vietnam under communist...

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