Devil's Advocate: Difference between revisions

Compare and contrast [[Strawman Political]], [[The War On Straw]], and other strawman tropes, which are insincere and work to undermine the opposing side rather than strengthen the final resolution. [[Bothering by the Book]] has the same purpose but it may or may not provide a more accurate version of the opposing argument. For the negative connotations people sometimes have about adversarial proceedings, compare and contrast [[Amoral Attorney]]. For a version of this idea in comedies and [[Aesop|morality tales]], see [[I Don't Think That's Such a Good Idea]]. The [[Commander Contrarian]] can sometimes be this. See also [[The Complainer Is Always Wrong]], as the trope is generally enacted specifically ''because'' the nonexistent complainer [[Straw Man Has a Point|might be right]]. [[The Drag Along]] may be this from a [[Watsonian Versus Doylist|Doylist]] point of view, but is almost never a Devil's Advocate in-continuity. Also, this trope should not be confused with someone who just happens to hold a minority view.

 

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== Fan Fiction ==

* As a rationalist, Harry Potter-Evans-Verres in ''[[Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality]]'' has it as a defining character trait that he must assess all available sides of an argument, whether no true advocate of that argument is present, or even exists. This has led to him acting as the Devil's Advocate for himself, as well as using the trope for other people as a form of the Socratic Method of argument.

== Webcomics ==

* ''[[Xkcd]]'' invokes this trope, but does not actually use it [http://xkcd.com/164/ here]. The trope itself is used without [[Name Drop]] in [http://xkcd.com/106/ the Wright Brothers example].