Do not make the mistake of thinking that because my conclusion is the same as another person's that my reasoning is the same
A Good Cause or Two
nbuf_button.gif bootbush.jpg
Click for more info

The Best of P6
The Racism Series The Reparations Series Installing a negro in your head Identity Blogging Where We Stand The LimbaughDiscussion That has Nothing To Do With Limbaugh
Updated when I write something really cool

Search
Local Links
The Attack on Civil Rights Corporate Influence on Government The Development of Race Basic Laws of Human Stupidity Blogger Archives
EMAIL ME AT
email.gif
Blogroll Me!
Blog-related mail may be published

The Public Library
The Black Experience in America The Souls of Black Folks My Bondage and My Freedom The Martin Luther King Jr. Collection Walker's AppealThe Shaping of Black America, Ch. 3
Updated as frequently as possible

Archives
July 18, 2004 - July 24, 2004 July 11, 2004 - July 17, 2004 July 04, 2004 - July 10, 2004 June 27, 2004 - July 03, 2004 June 20, 2004 - June 26, 2004 June 13, 2004 - June 19, 2004 June 06, 2004 - June 12, 2004 May 30, 2004 - June 05, 2004 May 23, 2004 - May 29, 2004 May 16, 2004 - May 22, 2004 May 09, 2004 - May 15, 2004 May 02, 2004 - May 08, 2004 April 25, 2004 - May 01, 2004 April 18, 2004 - April 24, 2004 April 11, 2004 - April 17, 2004 April 04, 2004 - April 10, 2004 March 28, 2004 - April 03, 2004 March 21, 2004 - March 27, 2004 March 14, 2004 - March 20, 2004 March 07, 2004 - March 13, 2004 February 29, 2004 - March 06, 2004 February 22, 2004 - February 28, 2004 February 15, 2004 - February 21, 2004 February 08, 2004 - February 14, 2004 February 01, 2004 - February 07, 2004 January 25, 2004 - January 31, 2004 January 18, 2004 - January 24, 2004 January 11, 2004 - January 17, 2004 January 11, 2004 - January 17, 2004January 04, 2004 - January 10, 2004December 28, 2003 - January 03, 2004December 21, 2003 - December 27, 2003December 14, 2003 - December 20, 2003December 07, 2003 - December 13, 2003November 30, 2003 - December 06, 2003November 23, 2003 - November 29, 2003November 16, 2003 - November 22, 2003November 09, 2003 - November 15, 2003November 02, 2003 - November 08, 2003October 26, 2003 - November 01, 2003October 19, 2003 - October 25, 2003October 12, 2003 - October 18, 2003October 05, 2003 - October 11, 2003September 28, 2003 - October 04, 2003September 21, 2003 - September 27, 2003September 14, 2003 - September 20, 2003September 07, 2003 - September 13, 2003August 31, 2003 - September 06, 2003August 24, 2003 - August 30, 2003August 17, 2003 - August 23, 2003August 10, 2003 - August 16, 2003August 03, 2003 - August 09, 2003 July 27, 2003 - August 02, 2003 July 20, 2003 - July 26, 2003 July 13, 2003 - July 19, 2003 July 06, 2003 - July 12, 2003 June 29, 2003 - July 05, 2003 June 22, 2003 - June 28, 2003 June 15, 2003 - June 21, 2003 June 08, 2003 - June 14, 2003 June 01, 2003 - June 07, 2003 May 25, 2003 - May 31, 2003 May 18, 2003 - May 24, 2003 May 11, 2003 - May 17, 2003 May 04, 2003 - May 10, 2003 April 27, 2003 - May 03, 2003 April 20, 2003 - April 26, 2003 April 13, 2003 - April 19, 2003 April 06, 2003 - April 12, 2003
« One more | Main | You damn skippy I back the use of force »

July 20, 2004
On debate 

Conversational Cheap Shots is a simple explanation of invalid argument techniques.

Not a single damn one of them works in here. Let s/he who has ears hear.

NIT-PICKING: (Known in P6-land as "a debating tactic")
Instead of dealing with a comment or question directly, the idea here is to focus on some insignificant detail to evade the issue or buy time to think.

"We need to define just exactly what you mean by _________."

OUT OF CONTEXT:
A twisted version of NIT-PICKING, the technique here is to purposely misunderstand some word, phrase, or analogy and shift the focus to it instead of the subject. This ploy will derail the other person into a defense of the word, phrase, or analogy instead of the case at hand.

LISTEN UP:
Pretend that the reason the other person isn't able to agree with you is that they are not listening, or at least not hard enough.

PRETEND AD HOMINEM:
A specific escalation of YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT; make it seem as if the other person is attacking you rather than making a simple point or correction, especially if you suspect that the other party is correct. Rather than staying on the subject, begin to act hurt--as if you have been viciously attacked as a human being--rather than admit you are wrong, or could do better, etc.

WISHFUL THINKING:
Instead of proving a point true or false, this technique tries to imply that the individual's desires have led him/her astray without dealing with the merits of the issue itself. (C.S. Lewis termed this "Bulverism".) Any strong desire can be shown to have tainted a conclusion or clouded objectivity, which casts doubt on the legitimacy of a point. This is very close to the classic ad hominem fallacy: "you say that because you are a man."

HEAT-SEEKING QUESTION: (Good luck trying this one)
The intent here is to throw the other person's competence in doubt while at the same time changing the subject. A question is asked that the other person is not likely to know the answer to, destroying their credibility and confidence. To really rub it in, the questioner can give a full answer to his/her own question proving that him/herself to have superior knowledge of the subject.

LUNATIC FRINGE:
If a person is making an imaginative or novel point, the approach here is to push the idea to a radical extreme generally agreed to be bad. The extreme can be either real or imagined. The hope here is that the other person will reflexively back off and retreat to a defensive position, thus short-circuiting the progression of the argument.

QUESTION THE QUESTION / COMMENT:
A great lead-in for the technique of WISHFUL THINKING, or a method of delay giving yourself time to think of an answer.

"Why do you ask that?" / "What makes you ask that?"
"What drives you to make such a statement?"

WORD SALAD, a.k.a. SESQUIPEDALIANISM: (This is a favorite in the Afrofuturism mailing list)
This is a recipe for sophisticated babbling. Ingredients include: philosophic sounding words and sentence structure, unintelligible Latin terms, banal folk wisdom, jargon, catch phrases, truisms, etc. Sprinkle lightly with a few words that appear to pertain to the subject. This will sound very impressive without really saying anything and will buy time to think of something meaty to say while your lips are flapping. In some circles such machinations can actually be passed off as an answer--or a point!

CUT 'EM OFF AT THE PASS: (Typically seen on shows like Crossfire, typically executed by members of the exotic species rudus interruptus , i.e. Ingraham and the Coulter-Thing. Much like Tourette Syndrome)
If you can see where the other person's logic is leading, you can make it very difficult along the way by arguing each minute sub-point and example. If the other person can not get past the first point, how will a case ever be made? Most of the techniques listed can be used to achieve this end.

DENIAL OF A VALID CONCLUSION:
This is the opposite of the CUT 'EM OFF AT THE PASS technique. Instead of arguing along the way, agree with all of the sub-points but deny the obvious conclusion. This is very frustrating to the other person because it automatically changes the subject to epistemology (how we know what we know). Generally, the other person will attempt another explanation rather than get into a heavy epistemological discussion, and the technique can simply be repeated.

SELECTIVE MEMORY:
To bring up a past event and GET IT ALL WRONG, or even to make up a past event. The intent is to get the other person confused, angry, and defensive.



Posted by P6 at July 20, 2004 09:00 PM
Trackback URL: http://www.niggerati.net/mt/mt-tb.cgi/5609
Comments
Post a comment









Remember personal info?