Devil's advocate

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Devil's advocate is a phrase often used in the English speaking world. It refers to when, for the sake of debate, a person presents a point of view that they don't necessarily agree with just to make another consider an opposing point of view. In more colloquial terminology, it can refer to when you say something you don't believe just to mess with someone just for the lulz. An example of this would be if you were to see an atheist and a Muslim having a debate about whether or not God existed, and you whatever, your own beliefs, argue from say a deist standpoint that there is a God he just does sweet Fanny Adams[wp], simply to see their reactions. Another example would be on a mostly pro-choice forum, pretending to be pro-life to try and see how their arguments measure up. This is different from a troll who does this, as this person usually admits that they are playing devil's advocate and is trying to put across an opposing view and a troll is doing it for the lulz.

The problem with this behavior -- aside from making the person doing it look like an irredeemable asshole -- is that it is abusing privilege. The Devil's advocate is often treating someone's life as a hypothetical, which is insensitive at best.

The term originally referred to the Roman Catholic cardinal charged with arguing against a potential saint's canonization, before the role was greatly reduced by Pope John Paul II, though the Church does often seek out opposing counsel during the canonization process still.

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