Loaded Hypothetical
plural: loaded hypotheticals
[ローデッド・ハイポセティカル]
noun (rhetoric, logic, debate)
Definition:
A hypothetical question or scenario constructed with built-in assumptions, often biased, contentious, or unproven, that steer the respondent toward a particular conclusion or trap them into conceding something they do not actually believe.
A loaded hypothetical disguises its presuppositions as neutral framing, creating a rhetorical no-win situation for the person answering.
Key Features:
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Embeds hidden premises, for example guilt, motives, or causation.
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Forces the respondent to engage on the questioner’s terms.
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Frequently used in debates, political rhetoric, and bad-faith argumentation.
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Similar to a loaded question, but typically more elaborate and scenario based.
Etymology:
From loaded meaning containing implicit bias or prejudicial assumptions plus hypothetical meaning a proposed scenario used for reasoning.
Modelled on “loaded question,” a classical fallacy in logic.
Examples:
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“If privatizing all schools leaves millions of kids uneducated, would you still support it?”
(Assumes privatization would necessarily cause mass illiteracy.) -
“If drug addicts have a right to wander into elementary schools, how will you keep children safe?”
(Smuggles in the false premise that the other person holds such a view.) -
“If your policies inevitably lead to authoritarian collapse, is that a trade-off you are comfortable with?”
(Implies inevitability without arguing for it.)
Related Terms:
loaded question, complex question fallacy, presupposition, framing, rhetorical trap, straw man, goalpost shifting.
Usage Note:
Loaded hypotheticals often appear when one party wants to avoid addressing the opponent’s actual argument. They function as bait, redirecting the conversation toward emotionally charged but irrelevant terrain, pressuring the respondent into defending claims they never made.
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