what is the word that descibes this type of argument debate tool?

Question

example: when you pose the question "do you still beat your wife?"..if you say "no ", it implies you used to and if you say "yes" implies you are still doing it...so there is no escape without fault...there is a term for it.....does anyone know the name of that debate device ? Thanks

Answer 1

I believe it is a loaded question:

http://www.fallacyfiles.org/loadques.html

Contains the example:
A loaded question is a question with a false or questionable presupposition, and it is "loaded" with that presumption. The question "Have you stopped beating your wife?" presupposes that you have beaten your wife prior to its asking, as well as that you have a wife. If you are unmarried, or have never beaten your wife, then the question is loaded.

Since this example is a yes/no question, there are only the following two direct answers:

"Yes, I have stopped beating my wife", which entails "I was beating my wife."
"No, I haven't stopped beating my wife", which entails "I am still beating my wife."

Thus, either direct answer entails that you have beaten your wife, which is, therefore, a presupposition of the question. So, a loaded question is one which you cannot answer directly without implying a falsehood or a statement that you deny. For this reason, the proper response to such a question is not to answer it directly, but to either refuse to answer or to reject the question.

Answer 2

morally unethical line of questioning! dont know the term but know what u r getting at

Answer 3

That sounds like a "trick-question".

Answer 4

i think that it is just a no win situation thats the best i can come up up with