The Cunctator wrote:
Again, a slippery slope argument and an inductive
argument are not
equivalent. There's a reason the words are different.
A quick scan of recent media seems to argue differently: there are
numerous uses of the term "slippery slope" by politicians arguing
against the Patriot Act, for example, who argue that it makes it easier
for future government power grabs. This is, by your terminology, an
inductive argument, but widely referred to as a "slippery slope"
argument by those actually making the argument. A typical phrase is
"this starts us on a slippery slope towards...". Opponents of the
recent partial-birth abortion ban act have made similar arguments, that
this is the first step towards further restrictions on abortion.
For a rigorous treatment of the legitimate use of slippery slope
arguments in their numerous forms, see "The Mechanisms of the Slippery
Slope", a forthcoming book by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh,
available online in draft form:
http://www1.law.ucla.edu/~volokh/slippery.htm
-Mark