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Bad Political Argumentation

By Stuart Buck, Esq.

Yesterday I read a book of essays by Alfie Kohn, called What Does It Mean to Be Well Educated?Kohn makes a particular argument that I found to epitomize bad argumentation, in a way that is depressingly common among partisans on all sides of virtually every social and political issue. Here's the formula: Side 1: "I think we should adopt Strategy A, with the goal of causing Result B." Side 2, with the bad argument: "I don't think Strategy A would cause Result B. In fact, I think it's so clear that Strategy A won't cause Result B, and that it will instead cause horrible Result C, that I'll accuse Side 1 of lying when they say they want Result B in the first place. Thus, if they're proposing Strategy A, it's really because of a sinister and maleficent plot to bring about Result C...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Buck Stops Here on January 25, 2009 (boomark / email).