So I’ve talked in the last few posts about making good arguments by addressing the substance of your opponent’s position rather than attacking irrelevancies. I described the practice of strawmanning, which is constructing an inferior version of the argument you’re trying to demolish because it’s easier, and how that shouldn’t be mistaken for actually defeating.
In the last couple of posts I’ve been exploring different ways in which it’s possible to make bad arguments against someone’s position by ignoring the substance of their argument in favor of some distraction from it or distortion of it, even a completely fictional version of it. The tactic of constructing an inaccurate version of.
Okay, so we’ve pretty well covered how not to talk to and about people you disagree with, right? It can be summed up pretty easily by asking yourself the following question: Does this thing I’m writing/saying/drawing/etc. actually address the substance of what the person I’m talking about is saying/writing/drawing/etc.? Or does it attack irrelevancies? Because.