Arguments Theories and Conspiracies
By Melvin J. Howard
You have probably heard Spock say to Captain Kirk on the TV series
Star Trek (That is not logical Captain) now that the elections are
coming up. The push is on to get your votes but how do you make an intelligent
decision with so much information coming at you like the speed of light. How do
you decipher fact from fiction who is wrong who is right? Since there are no
federal laws requiring truth in political ads at all. And the few states that
have attempted such laws have had them overturned or found them ineffective.
Some believe that politicians can be sued for defamation if they stray too far
from the truth, and they think that provides some protection to voters. It doesn’t
the courts move to slowly for that trust me and they rightly give candidates
the full benefit of free-speech protection of the U.S. constitution. So
lawsuits for false political claims are rare or non-existent. The reality is
that the public is exposed to enormous amounts of deception that go
unchallenged by government regulators the courts or the news media. Fear has
been a staple tactic of advertisers and politicians for so long that it has
become the political go to when all else fails. We should always approach claims cautiously
when they are too dramatic, especially when you want them to be true. Extravagant
claims are just too easy to accept when they match your own biases.
People who find their position weak or indefensible often attack.
You see our minds betray us not only when it comes to politics but all sorts of
matters. People are not by nature the fact driven rational beings we think we
are. We embrace information that supports our beliefs and reject evidence that
challenges them. You see anyone who cites statistics or poll numbers has an investment in the
statistic. It is quite rare to hear a statistic from an unbiased voice. Statistics
and actuarial tables work because most people live predictable lives. They are
influenced by the same news casts read the same newspapers read the same bill
boards consume the same fast foods. Listen to the same sermons agree with
people of the same skin color, oppose the same political party fight over money
and complain about the same problems and are willing to settle for a
cookie-cutter way of life. But for those of us who do not adhere to a robotic existence
we use logic or deep thinking. We all use the word logic but what does the word
mean? It is the science or study of how to evaluate arguments and reasoning.
Logic is a way to allow us to distinguish correct reasoning from poor
reasoning. Logic is important because it helps us reason correctly without
correct reasoning, we don’t have a viable means for knowing the truth or
arriving at sound beliefs. I have a personal interest in logic and how the mind
works as Spock would say it is fascinating.
Logic is not a matter of opinion when it comes to evaluating
arguments; there are specific principles and criteria, which are used. If we
use those principles and criteria, then we are using logic. This is important
because sometimes people don’t realize that what sounds reasonable isn’t
necessarily logical in the strict sense of the word. The ability to use
reasoning is far from perfect, but it is also our most reliable and successful
means for developing sound judgments about the world around us. In general, our
ability to survive depends upon our ability to know what is true, or at least
what is more likely true than not true. For that, we need to use reason. I had
a very good friend and business partner whom was my lawyer he has since passed
away. His passing was a terrible lost to me personally and professionally. We
were roughly the same age we had some of the same ideas about life. But we were
the polar opposites when it came to our personal style he was downtown I was
uptown. But we clicked he knew how my mind worked it was magic.
But what Dave gave to me was more important than any legal advice
he taught me how to think in terms of logic and reason. Of course, reason can
be used well or it can be used poorly and that is where logic comes in. The
Greek philosopher Aristotle is generally regarded as the “father” of logic.
Others before him discussed the nature of arguments and how to evaluate them,
but he was the one who first created a system for doing it. Whatever the
subject matter logic is applicable anywhere that reasoning and arguments are
being used. If we don’t apply the criteria of logic to our arguments, we cannot
trust that our reasoning is sound.
When a lawyer makes an argument for a particular course of action,
how can that argument be properly evaluated without an understanding of the
principles of logic? When a CEO makes a pitch for a product, arguing that it is
superior to the competition, how can we determine whether to trust the claims
if we aren’t familiar with what distinguishes a good argument from a poor one?
Here is where we have to use critical thinking, critical thinking is an effort
to develop reliable, rational evaluations about what is reasonable for us to
believe or disbelieve. Critical thinking makes use of the tools of logic and
science because it values skepticism over gullibility or dogmatism, reason over
faith, science of pseudoscience, and rationality over wishful thinking.
Critical thinking does not guarantee that you will arrive at the truth, but it
does make it much more likely than not you will.
Open Your Mind
A person who wishes to think critically about something like
politics must be open-minded. This requires being open to the
possibility that not only are others right, but also that you are wrong. Too
often people launch into a frenzy of arguments apparently without taking any
time to consider that they may be mistaken in something. Of course, it is also
possible to be too “open-minded” because not every idea is equally valid or has
an equal chance of being true. Although we should technically allow for the
possibility that someone is correct, we must still require that they offer support
for their claims if they cannot or do not, we may be justified in dismissing
those claims and acting as if they weren’t true. Even if you have clear logical
reason for accepting an idea, you also probably have emotional and
psychological reasons for accepting it. Reasons, which you are not fully aware
of. It is important though, that you learn to separate the two because the
latter can easily interfere with the former.
Don’t Jump
It’s easy for people to quickly go to the first and most obvious
conclusion in any sort of dilemma, but the fact of the matter is the obvious
conclusion isn’t always the correct one. Remember all those TV crime dramas
that you thought you had wrapped up in 15 minutes only to be wrong at the end
of the show. Unfortunately, once a person adopts a conclusion it can be
difficult to get them to give it up in favor of something else after all, no
one wants to be wrong, do they? One of the most important things to watch out
for in arguments is the influence of bias or vested interest and every human
has them. Both are variations on the same sort of problem, although there are
differences that require mentioning each separately. Bias occurs any time that
facts are interpreted in a way that unreasonably favors one position over another;
vested interest is a cause of bias in which one will personally and
specifically benefit if people adopt a particular position. Ultimately, some
sort of bias is always going to exist we all have our passions, desires, and
preferences. We wouldn’t even be debating particular issues unless we cared
about them in some way, so the very nature that we are participating in a
debate or discussion is itself evidence of some sort of bias.
Having a bias, however, is not the same as allowing one’s
reasoning and arguments to succumb to bias. In critical thinking the person
makes a sincere effort to recognize and acknowledge their biases, ultimately
taking them into account when weighing evidence and logic so as to ensure that
those biases don’t unfairly tip the scales in an inappropriate direction. It is
also important to listen when someone points out possible biases because, quite
frankly, we often aren’t good at noticing when we have biases that influence
our thinking. A vested interest is a particular cause of bias, which occurs not
simply when one unreasonably favors a preferred perspective, but in fact favors
a perspective which provides them with specific benefits. An obvious example of
vested interest would be anyone who is paid to promote a product in commercials.
There are also many ways in which a person can have a vested
interest which aren’t quite so obvious. A person might, for example, discount
allegations of unethical or illegal conduct against a company they have stock
in. They might also favor any reports that improve the image of their case on
the assumption that anything, which makes their theory look better, must
therefore make them look better as well. You can also identify
backwards-looking examples of vested interest because people seem to have a
strong interest in defending decisions that have already been made i.e. the
wrongly convicted no one wants to be wrong. Similar behavior can be seen when
it comes to political candidates or political parties’ ideology.
