False surrender:
Tactical Fallacy
| Definition | Example |
| When there is offered an unwarranted or premature truce on a point of contention in order to misrepresent opponent’s position as unprovable or inconclusive. | My belief that all swans are white isn’t necessarily falsified by your photo of a black swan. We’ll just have to agree to disagree. |
| Also known as: agree to disagree | |
| Notes | |
| This tactic is often employed by the side who feels the other side has presented the better evidence/arguments. | |
Case Study One
Culture X may concede that culture Y has the prerogative to continue with practices that culture X considers immoral, as long as culture Y makes the same concession for culture X. The actual ethical arguments for/against each practice are ignored.
Case Study Two
Evolution opponents will often concede that both evolution and intelligent design are legitimate viewpoints, implying that neither can be falsified or demonstrated, and that they have equal evidential support.
Keep in mind that a fallacious argument does not entail an erroneous position.
