Logic – For the love of it

Moving The Goalposts

classification : informal

A fallacy in which previously agreed upon standards for deciding an argument are arbitrarily changed once they have been met.

Foundations

This is usually done by the “losing” side of an argument in a desperate bid to save face. If the goalposts are moved far enough, then the standards can eventually evolve into something that cannot be met no matter what. Usually such a tactic is spotted quickly.

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