Truth is Truth
Okay, last post for today, I pinky promise.
Sort of as a followup to what I just posted, I wanted to talk about some issues I have with other people’s rhetoric in general. I am not completely innocent of these either! But it’s worth pointing out and this was originally intended to be more of a philosophical blog even though I literally never talk about philosophy on here. So. Crash course in rhetoric:
truth is truth You should actually believe what you are arguing for. If you ever find yourself advocating a false point because even though you know it’s false, you think the world would be a better place if everyone believed it: something has gone horribly wrong. You can’t build anything good on a foundation that is not solid.
you are not your argument Someone disagreeing with you is not a personal attack. Generally, try not to be emotionally invested in your argument, whatever it is. Caring is fine, yes, but if your argument is central to your identity, every conflicting anecdote is an affront, and changing your mind feels like turning into a werewolf. This does not make for good rhetoric
address the elephant in the room I don’t care what your claim is: someone out there has a counterclaim. You should at least attempt to address it ahead of time. Just as you drive defensively, you want to think defensively. Otherwise you get blindsided by an 18-wheeler full of people pointing out really obvious flaws in your reasoning.
argue in good faith, or not at all If you can’t engage with the substance of someone else’s argument, keep scrolling. don’t bring up typos, capitalization, or grammar errors unless it’s impeding your ability to understand them, and even then, you should be asking for clarification, not mocking. If you can’t disagree with someone without calling them a bigot, you do not belong in serious conversation. Yes even if the other person is obviously just trolling. People troll for attention. Why are you feeding the fire?
Similarly, you should try to engage with what the other person meant, not just what they literally said.
- don’t play cheap tricks Nothing, and I mean nothing is more annoying than getting into an argument that goes like this:
annoying person: [says X that blatantly implies Y]
me: Y isn’t true
annoying person: I didn’t say Y! Stop putting words in my mouth!
Don’t be that person. Consider what you are saying. Consider if a reasonable person could easily paraphrase your argument, and by doing so cause it to mean something you did not intend. If so, your argument needs work. Or, at the very least, when someone does paraphrase your argument to reveal that you implied something you didn’t intend, either admit you didn’t consider that or argue against it. Saying “I didn’t say that!!” is immature. You implied it. Take responsibility.