The Discerning Liberal’s Guide To Arguing With Right-Wing Nutjobs

Book of Bad Arguments
Book of Bad Arguments

Logical Fallacies

Want to be able to?eviscerate conservatives?in political arguments? Think of this little gem of a book ?– An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments by Ali Almossawi — as an intro to logical ?fallacies.

About the book, from the website:

This book is aimed at newcomers to the field of logical reasoning, particularly those who, to borrow a phrase from Pascal, are so made that they understand best through visuals. I have selected a small set of common errors in reasoning and visualized them using memorable illustrations that are supplemented with lots of examples. The hope is that the reader will learn from these pages some of the most common pitfalls in arguments and be able to identify and avoid them in practice.

[…]

?This work’s novelty is in its use of illustrations to describe a small set of common errors in reasoning that plague a lot of our present discourse.

You may even want to consider buying the print edition, though the web version is totally free. I’m buying it! It’s a beautiful little book. Enjoy the read and I’m giving a homework assignment (optional, of course): use one of these arguments today.

The next time you see someone say “I hears about two people who lost their insurance plans because of Obamacare, and that proves that Obamacare is bad,” you can say to?your friend: “Hasty generalization much?” Throwing logic at conservatives is fun. Most of them?don’t really know what to do with it.

Here are some screenshots from An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments and illustrated examples of some of the most commonly seen logical fallacies from the right wing:

Straw Man

Intentionally caricaturing a person’s argument with the aim of attacking the caricature rather than the actual argument is what is meant by ?putting up a straw man.??

straw man logical fallacy
Book of Bad Arguments

 

Hasty Generalization

This fallacy is committed when one generalizes from a sample that is either too small or too special to be representative of a population. For example, asking ten people on the street what they think of the president’s plan to reduce the deficit can in no way be said to represent the sentiment of the entire nation.

hasty generalization
Book of Bad Arguments

Slippery Slope

A slippery slope?attempts to discredit a proposition by arguing that its acceptance will undoubtedly lead to a sequence of events, one or more of which are undesirable.?

Slippery slope
Book of Bad Arguments

Ad Hominem

An ad hominem argument is one that attacks a person’s character rather than what he or she is saying with the intention of diverting the discussion and discrediting the person’s argument.?

Ad Hominen
Book of Bad Arguments

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Tiffany Willis is the founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal America. An unapologetic member of the Christian Left, she has spent most of her career actively working with ?the least of these? and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. She’s passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics she discusses,?like her?Facebook page,?follow her on Twitter, or?connect with her via LinkedIn. She also has a?grossly neglected personal blog?and a?literary quotes blog that is a labor of love. Find her somewhere and join the discussion.

 

I had a successful career actively working with at-risk youth, people struggling with poverty and unemployment, and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. In 2011, I made the decision to pursue my dreams and become a full-time writer. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.