Plurium Interrogationum

From the Latin and translated literally as 'of many questions,' plurium interrogationum is a type of logical fallacy that is more precisely defined as a 'loaded' or 'trick' question.

It is an attempt to elicit a simple answer to a complex question. Simple examples include the questions like 'have you stopped beating your wife?' which attempt to force a 'yes' or 'no' answer, either of which is incriminating. More sophisticated examples might include political posturing, as in the question 'how long do we allow the such-and-such political party to ruin this country?' In both examples, complex, unfounded and perhaps unrelated assumptions are presented as facts that demand a response.

Beyond awareness of the logical fallacy, the next defense is to separate the question into parts and deal with the parts independently.

For more information on Plurium Interrogationum: http://www.fallacyfiles.org/loadques.html