My Retort Post to Irrational Posters
When posters use name calling or ridicule as a response to me I have this prepared to post as a retort to their irrational rants.
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The trademark personal insult, name calling, ridicule, and ad hominem attacks characterize the debate style of Obama’s people That tactic has worked quite well on the ignorant and those who value feeling more than reason. Uninformed voted Obama - http://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2008/12/uninformed-voted-obama-informed-voted.html
This is not new, transformational politics. This is the rise of a New American Fascism.
You might consult an article on this blog entitled. Spot false arguments and make strong ones. http://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2008/11/spot-false-arguments-and-make-strong.htmlA free hint on how to improve your posts. You will note that ad hominem arguments are at the lower end of the scale on the pyramid chart at the above link; only one step above name calling which is the other part of your content. Do you honestly expect to get somewhere with a post like that when many of the readers on this blog have triple digit IQs?
In case you need a little help with your Latin: An ad hominem argument, consists of replying to an argument or factual claim by attacking or appealing to a characteristic or belief of the person making the argument or claim, rather than by addressing the substance of the argument or producing evidence against the claim. The process of proving or disproving the claim is thereby subverted, and the argumentum ad hominem works to change the subject.
Have you had a logic class yet?
You might take a look at this site: http://www.austhink.org/critical/pages/fallacies.html
Ridicule - Also Known as: Appeal to Mockery, The Horse Laugh.
Description of Appeal to Ridicule
The Appeal to Ridicule is a fallacy in which ridicule or mockery is substituted for evidence in an " argument." This line of " reasoning" has the following form:X, which is some form of ridicule, is presented (typically directed at the claim).Therefore claim C is false.This sort of "reasoning" is fallacious because mocking a claim does not show that it is false. This is especially clear in the following example: "1+1=2!
"That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!"
Examples of Appeal to Ridicule
"Sure my worthy opponent claims that we should lower tuition, but that is just laughable."
"Support the ERA? Sure, when the women start paying for the drinks! Hah! Hah!"
"Those wacky conservatives! They think a strong military is the key to peace! There’s a tin foil hat idea"
http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/
http://images7.cafepress.com/product/278928847v114_350x350_Front.jpg
This link is the surprise visual I hope they click
Thank you for all the links. We start a logic class with our oldest home educated student in the fall (perhaps August as he really wants to read the text we have).
ReplyDeleteI think this was the main reason I left our local TEA Party feeling a bit empty. Lots of hype but not much substance. Folks could buy t-shirts but not a copy of the Constitution. Not a single speaker asked the crowd who had read the constitution in the last month. No real challenge to the crowd during the first 2 hrs (we left 1/2 hr before the end due to cold wind and small children not being a good mix).
It's akin to going to church and saying you are a Christian and never read the Bible (The White Horse Inn did an informal interview survey at a Christian booksellers convention and couldn't find a single person who knew all 10 commandments and most could only come up with 3. One person laughed and said, "I don't know them but I follow them.").
People need to learn how to study and use original sources. We are teaching these skills to the next generation in our home. I didn't learn some of these skills until I was in graduate school where all the dots connected. I have been going back to original sources, or as close as I can get, ever since.