Steelmanning The steel man (or steelmanning) argument is the polar opposite of the straw man argument. The goal is to assist one's opponent in developing the strongest form of their argument. Rather than simply disputing the minor issues within their argument, the goal is to help them develop a strong case on the major points. The term "steel man" was originally used by Chinese soldiers when arguing with their leaders. They would say that they were willing to be killed as long as their leader did not give in to the enemy. Today, it is used in any debate or discussion where you challenge your opponent to fully develop their position rather than simply attacking a version of it that they find convenient. Steelmanning is often used in academic settings where there are several possible interpretations for concepts or terms in a text. Rather than presenting a biased interpretation, the aim is to encourage the author or speaker to explain their view and support it with evidence from the text. For example, if someone claims that Hillary Clinton is only interested in power because she is male, you could steelman this by saying that perhaps she is only interested in power because it can lead to better health care for elderly people. By challenging his or her to prove their claim, you have helped them develop their argument instead of simply dismissing it out of hand.