Thursday, March 18, 2010

How Not To Debate: Part 1

Since I have yet to post a Part 2 to the last 'Part One' post, let me say that the implication that there will be subsequent parts is at best optimistic. I'm addressing in this post the propensity of some people to start posts, points, arguments with variations on this phrase "You'll probably hate me for this", "The moderators will surely edit this or delete this" or "flame on". What's being done with these statements is setting up any opposition as short-sighted and/or stupid. Rather than simply presenting one's points and letting the argument stand on its own merits, this strategy is a preemptive jab at those who disagree, an attempt at shaming those in opposition to refrain from expressing their variance of opinion as if to say "No, not me, I'm not ignorant!". In my observation, very few people know how to conduct a logical, rational argument and resort to name-calling, personal attacks and jumping to wild conclusions. There are many websites out there, such as this one http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ which lists many logical fallacies and talks about how to conduct a logical argument.

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