If you send an e-mail claiming that youre convinced that Im wrong about something, its a good idea to actually make an argument, preferably one that is properly structured and supported by evidence. If, instead, you simply: - Assert that Im wrong - State that its obvious that Im wrong - Put together a poorly worded sentence that wouldnt support your case without changing almost every other word - Build an equivocation fallacy...that you expose by actually using a word in one sentence and the word youre mistakenly equating it to in the very next sentence - Restart your original assertion and call it an argument...when its not ... then youre probably not going to like the response you get. None of us are going to make good arguments or decisions all the time. Im usually pretty happy to be proved wrong (as I was just last week, on more than one thing)...but if theyre horrible, Im going to let you know. Im also usually willing to help someone make a better argument - but I need *something* to work with. Youre wrong. Its obvious that youre wrong. Heres my misunderstanding of what you said, coupled with my misunderstanding of the subject. Heres a question that I think, wrongly, that everyone would obviously answer with a resounding no. Heres a claim that Ive made an argument that youre wrong. OK, um... That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence - Christopher Hitchens Ill just leave it at that. (And, because someone will ask...the topic was morality. About which, I may be incorrect, but a bad argument is not going to demonstrate this.)
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 06:10:24 +0000
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