Hey what’s up Thinkers! Kathy Gibbens here…
Let’s start off with a quick review of a fallacy we covered earlier this season, the Argument Against Self-Confidence. Hit pause for just a second and see if you can define this fallacy! The Argument Against Self-Confidence fallacy happens when someone attacks their opponent’s self-confidence rather than attacking their argument or the evidence they’re presenting. They’ll ask questions like, are you sure that…? Or Did it really…? To try to get you to show some self-doubt and then claim you can’t be credible b/c you aren’t really sure.
Question to ask yourself: “Does the fact that they’re unsure make their argument invalid?”
If you want to hear more about this fallacy, check out Episode 69.
Today’s episode is going to be a short & sweet one AND it’s brought to you by my Meme Fallacy Quiz! I have a short quiz that you can take to test your knowledge of the fallacies. There are 10 memes that I’ve found online and you have to pick which fallacy is being committed in the meme. It’s quick, fun and great practice! Just go to filteritthroughabraincell.com/quiz
Ok, so Before I give you Part 6 of our How to Argue & Debate Well mini-series, Let’s do a quick review of the first 5: 1) you have to study both sides of the issue; 2) you should have evidence, and it should be credible; and 3) it’s ok to argue values, but it doesn’t work to argue feelings. 4) You can’t argue well if you don’t listen well. And 5) You have to actually be winsome & confident in your delivery. Ok, this brings us to Part 6, which is this:
6. Resorting to strawman fallacies, ad hominem attacks and mockery are sure signs that you no longer have any credible arguments left. Things like name-calling & mockery are the kiss of death in a debate. If you’re doing it, it just tells the other person that you’re all out of arguments, and if the other person does it to you, don’t take it personal, just know they’re all out of arguments. It takes a big person who is secure in who they are to say, “Hmm, that’s a good point, I hadn’t thought about it and I don’t know what to say. Can I look into it and get back to you?” Or to say, “You know what, you’re right, and I think I’m wrong about this particular issue or topic” Most people won’t be able to do that, even when they are proven to be wrong, so they resort to personal attacks. But not you. You’re not going to be most people b/c you’re learning these skills now!
Remember: When you learn HOW to think, you will no longer fall prey to those who are trying to tell you what THEY want you to think and it all starts with asking one simple question: “Is that really true?”
