Is your argument strong enough? Do you want to be the one who is always listened to at the dinner table? Expressing yourself verbally is a part of self-actualization that is the top trait of Maslow’s hierarchy. Everybody wants to be heard out at some point. Some do it successfully with the Ted Talks, the podcasts, and the Youtube channels as well as other traditional media tools. On a minor level, some do it by ordering food for the whole table. Who are those people? Why are they always so persuasive?
When we are thinking, making deductions or arguments, we sometimes make mistakes. These mistakes are called “fallacies”. It is hard to detect these fallacies as they may seem reasonable when heard or read. We do it consonantly, so the question here is why should we know about these fallacies? First, we do not want to think wrong. Then, more importantly, we do not want to be tricked by the wrong thoughts of other people.
What we speak constitutes a part of us. It is the most preliminary step when we reveal ourselves to other people. Sometimes it is quite harder than you think due to the external factors. However, most of the time it is us who are stopping us. For a little peace of mind, nobody should explain themselves more than they have to. What if we are subconsciously losing the arguments we should have won. I will give you a few logical fallacies to help you to lose an argument. With the help of it, you can decrease the number of debates you have in your bathroom alone.
The way to lose: Ad Hominem
The simple definition is attacking a person or their character rather than making claim based on an argument. Ad hominin arguments include name-calling, labeling, and being offensive and show little intelligent thought. This way usually includes two parts as the first part offers an attack on the behavior or the action of the others while the second is its representation as if it is a counterargument.
“How can you argue your case for vegetarianism when you are enjoying that steak?
This is beyond the discussion, as the person is directly attacking the other’s habit. It is a useful way if you don’t want to discuss the issue and rather you want to talk about the other.
A: “All murders are criminals, but a thief is not a murderer and so cannot be a criminal”
B: “Well, you are a thief and a criminal, so there goes your argument.”
Above it is the real conversation killer. Reasoning your argument based on fallacies are great ways to make friends and create a terrible conversation culture.
Another way to lose: Circular Reasoning
Politicians always think they are right. In their premise, they already accept the truth of the claim they are attempting to make. It is a great way to lose the argument as you are not debating, you are just mumbling.
I deserve to have a later curfew, so you should let me stay out until 10 pm!
This sentence itself shows a great example of how people should come up with this argumentation if they want to convince people.
It should be okay to destroy property when you are angry because angry people destroy things.
Here is the justification of the things we have done for the night we don’t remember. Use this circular reasoning to any kind of your relationship. You will get % of 100 satisfaction to ignore other people’s thoughts.
There are many other ways to destroy a healthy conversation. If you are already interested in what you have read, you should check other fallacies to exploit your debate skills.
However, if you want to read any kind of topic, please check our other blog posts as they are also worth checking.