# Is being a "Devil's Advocate" really mean you are being wishy-washy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 5, 2006, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563 "2006-01-05T13:05:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/1 "2006-01-05T13:05:18Z")
people see them this way? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/2 "2006-01-05T13:28:45Z")
Not at all – it means you’re arguing a contrarian position. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/3 "2006-01-05T13:30:18Z")
Quite the contrary, many tend to be confrontational. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/4 "2006-01-05T13:35:34Z")
I often enjoy taking that position. Sometimes it’s not an altogether incorrect position and sometimes it helps me develop a better understanding of where I stand on the subject and help me cement my convictions on the right and wrong of an issue. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/5 "2006-01-05T13:49:14Z")
Well, a person who SAYS “Um, well, may I play devil’s advocate here…” may well be wimpy and wishy-washy and afraid to come flat out and simply say what he really thinks. But a devil’s advocate is still valuable, because SOMEONE has to make sure that all the relevant facts have been considered, and that decisions are being made for the right reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/6 "2006-01-05T13:52:13Z")
No; it _can_ mean you’re being open-minded and/or balanced - it’s an essential part of critical thinking. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/7 "2006-01-05T15:17:42Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I often enjoy taking that position. Sometimes it’s not an altogether incorrect position and sometimes it helps me develop a better understanding of where I stand on the subject and help me cement my convictions on the right and wrong of an issue. I agree. I used to stick completely to what I thought was right but after living in the world for a while (and reading these boards) I find myself compelled to consider the other side. Unfortunately I usually come to the conclusion that there is no good or absolute answer, but that keeps me from being too strident about my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/8 "2006-01-05T16:14:33Z")
The Devil’s Advocate has been for over four hundred years a requirement for the Catholic rites of beatification and canonization. Elsewhere, it’s just a phrase representing a good idea, often subsumed within the context of “looking at all sides of an issue.” Depending on how you look at things, it may or may not be possible to examine the flaws in one’s personal beliefs without adopting the persona of an argumentative adversary, and it may or may not be a fraud to claim true objectivity in either case. In any event, the label “Devil’s Advocate” is always meant as a dysphemism, else the Catholic Church would condemn as often as it sanctifies. The place where **BluePitbull** and **astorian** have the truth of it is that juncture, existent in all cases, where someone knows s/he can take an unpopular position and simultaneously knows s/he cannot be held morally responsible for it. In the Catholic tradition, one is still taking the minute but real risk of contaminating ones soul through his/her ardent advocacy, unless their is a dispensation for DAs (felicitous coincidence!) I don’t know about. Elsewhere, there is no such risk. The opprobrium of ones fellows is a pale shadow in comparison and goes with any disapproved stance, even one which is entirely self-serving. In the best scenario, it is an opportunity to pursue truth through casuistry or sophistry, with no responsibility to _find_ the truth, or to reveal it. So yes, there are opportunities within the “devil’s advocate” label for persons who are clever, obstinate, even passionate, but lacking in conviction or a sense of responsibility for ones own words. Anyone who takes care to label him/herself a devil’s advocate, rather than simply defending the truth (all of and only that which is proven) may well be such a person. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/9 "2006-01-05T16:37:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Is being a “Devil’s Advocate” really mean you are being wishy-washy? No. It means you are an up-and-coming lawyer who is enamored of success, never loses a case, has a hot but mentally fragile wife who gets nekkid alot, a mom who slept with Satan (your boss and father), and a hot half-sister who likes to get nekkid and wants to jump your bones and create the Anti-Christ at dad’s/boss’ behest, but you decide to put an ounce of supersonic lead through your skull instead. Good flick, though. ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/10 "2006-01-05T17:25:47Z")
I use the phrase to signify “I agree with you, but let’s try to poke holes in the idea so we know where we’re likely to run into trouble.” So I wouldn’t call it wishy-washy, no. If I disagree with someone, I never claim I’m just being a devil’s advocate. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/11 "2006-01-05T17:30:12Z")
Playing devil’s advocate is an absolutely vital part of my job, and can’t be done by a wishy-washy person because of the ego that can be involved. So no, I don’t agree. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/12 "2006-01-05T17:35:29Z")
Allow me to play [Devils Advocate](http://www.freeonlinegames.com/play/1257.html) for a moment… ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-devils-advocate-really-mean-you-are-being-wishy-washy/338563/13 "2006-01-05T17:47:40Z")
I think it depends. Someone who can claim to be a Devil’s Advocate could also just be a jerk who enjoys attention. I used to be a member of an old BBS, and one member, who claimed to be a “Devil’s Advocate” would hijack every thread with contrarian positions just for the sake of arguing. It gets annoying when someone does this all the time. That would indicate that the person is an attention whore rather than actually having their own views.