Be en-garde for such false arguments and, when encountered, parry and thrust.
They are the entrances to rabbit-holes you want to avoid going down at all costs. When engaged in the actual argument, be on the look-out for these false arguments, these logical fallacies. Perhaps practice your debate with a friend or colleague who is a knowledgeable and credible adversary. Also be prepared for valid counter-arguments so that they may be engaged and overcome. Map-out how you will present your arguments so that they lead to the desired outcome and ensure that you have all the information necessary to support your arguments.
Make sure that your desired outcome is simple and crystal clear. When preparing to argue, you must do the work. Or to loan Greece more money so they can use some of it to pay outstanding loans and some to pay government employees. Middle Ground is a form of argument that seeks a compromise and is usually invoked by the party with the weaker position.Īnd although compromise is almost always a reasonable goal, it is not always appropriate, attainable, or practical.įor instance, a half-truth is still a lie. And we know this because Mohammad Ali said so himself (that it was true in this particular case is not the point).
To counter, you can’t attack the premise or the proof, but rather you have to attack the circular structure.įor example, we all know that the greatest boxer was Mohammad Ali. It is a rather incoherent argument which is falsely strong because it is circular. In reality, not many things (outside the formulas of science) are truly “black and white”, but are instead shades of gray (and there are more than 50 of them).Īn example might be “If you are for a strong defense, you must be against the poor” or “If you are against paying teachers more, then you must be against education.”īegging the Question is a circular form of argument in that the justification or “proof” in the validity of the argument is included in the premise of the argument. Black-or-White (or “False Choice”) is a form of argument most often used by propagandists and those who want to cause divisions and leverage extreme (and often unrelated) views.
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