A person states an argument to support a position, but that argument could equally support the opposite position.
Is there a name for such an argument? Or a phrase to describe the concept?
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It only takes a minute to sign up.Sign up to join this community
I would use the idiom cuts both ways.
cut both ways
to affect both sides of an issue equally.
If the argument supports both sides equally and the two sides are contradictory, then neither side logically follows from the premises. That would make the argument a non-sequitur.
In Latin this term translates to “doesn’t follow”. This refers to an argument in which the conclusion does not necessarily follow from the premises. In other words, a logical connection is implied where none exists.
I would call this a controversy, since it is a question/statement that is all-encompassing of both points of view. A debate could follow, to help define which side of the controversy is more pertinent in the defined context. If unresolved, it would remain controversial (as seems to be the case more often than not).
This is from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/argument - "A controversy is an oral or written expression of contrary opinions, and may be dignified and of some duration: a political controversy."