How to Win an Argument , livre ebook

Turner Publishing Company - Michael A. Gilbert

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

88 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Proven techniques for getting your point across and winning arguments

If you've ever felt the frustration of losing an argument--even when you knew you were right--to someone more skilled in pressing their point (and your hot buttons), this book is for you. This practical, often amusing guide gives you the tools you need to make your point clearly in any disagreement, from a formal debate to a roaring shouting match. You'll find:
Strategies for identifying--and avoiding--the common traps your opponents may set for you
Sample arguments spotlighting current issues with notes that analyze both weak and strong techniques
Interactive quizzes that help reinforce your new skills and build confidence

"Insightful, instructive, and enjoyable to read."
--Publishers Weekly

Sujets

Philosophie

Épistémologie

Santé et bien-être

Développement personnel

développement personnel

Success

Self-help

Personal Growth

Informations

Publié par	Turner Publishing Company
Date de parution	12 janvier 1996
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781620459065
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0800€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

How to Win an Argument
How to Win an Argument
SECOND EDITION
Michael A. Gilbert

John Wiley Sons, Inc.
New York Chichester Brisbane Toronto Singapore
This text is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 1996 by Michael A. Gilbert
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada.
Reproduction or translation of any part of this work beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If legal, accounting, medical, psychological, or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gilbert, Michael A.
How to win an argument / Michael A. Gilbert. - 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-62045-706-1
1. Reasoning. I. Title.
BC177.G54 1995
160-dc20
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
To Zack ,
who s always a winner
Contents
Preface
Part One The Art of Argument
1 What Are We Arguing About?
2 Why Argue So Much?
3 Types of Arguments
4 Defensive vs. Offensive Argument
5 Some Warnings
6 Super-Rule I: Never Admit Defeat
7 How Are Arguments Built?
8 The Principle of Rationality
9 Two More Principles
10 Super-Rule II: Listen!
11 Zen and the Art of Argument
12 Part One Review
Part Two The Ways of Argument
13 What s Going On Here?
14 Ring Around the Argument
15 What Were We Talking About?
16 Everyone s Doin It, Doin It, Doin It
17 Well, If He Said So
18 The Refuge of Scoundrels
19 The Straw-Man Argument
20 The Slippery Slope
21 Haste Makes Waste
22 Three Sneaky Moves
23 Part Two Review
Part Three The Arguments
24 Pot Luck
25 The Gay Life
26 Equal Rights for Equal Arguments
27 Why Get Married?
28 Good-Bye, Friends
29 To See or Not to See
30 The Mark Market
31 To Therapy or Not to Therapy
32 Part Three Review
Appendix Sources for More Information on Arguing Well
Index
Preface to the Revised Edition
I learned how to argue on the streets of Flatbush, in Brooklyn, New York. Being a good kid and not a hood, I had to do something to keep from having my head knocked off every day. So it was that I discovered the power of persuasive argument. Later, at Hunter College (now Lehman College) in the Bronx, small gangs of us used to hang out in the halls throwing trick questions at unsuspecting profs. But when I went straight and began teaching I was shocked to learn that very few people really knew how to listen and respond to an argument. Finally I had a mission: to make the world more critical.
This book is an important part of my mission, and as such it must be understandable to the average reader. (What good is a mission no one can understand?) This book will show you how to argue and reason more effectively. It will also make you more aware of what is going on in an argument. I urge you to begin by reading Part Three and then to go back to Part One. Then when you read the whole book and go through Part Three for the second time you will be able to see and understand a great deal more. That will tell you for certain that the lessons learned in the book actually make a difference. This ability and your increased confidence can then be transferred to real arguments. All it takes is practice.
The preceding two paragraphs from the original foreword of the first edition still hold for me today. If anything, it is even more important that we all become adept at understanding and creating arguments. Demagoguery seems to be on the rise, and the media invade our minds with increasing skill and perseverance. Evermore we are presented with simplistic positions and addled arguments. The world seems to be breaking into opposing teams, and every team wants your allegiance. This book will enable you to choose wisely and carefully, and prevent you from being misled by fallacies and empty rhetoric. If I can increase your insight into and perception of the positions presented to you, and if I can decrease your gullibility and replace it with a healthy skepticism, then I will have succeeded in doing something important.
I am truly delighted that I won the argument with John Wiley Sons, Inc. to re-issue How to Win an Argument in a new, revised edition. Of everything I have done, it is this book that seems to have stayed with my readers the most. I still encounter people who read the first edition 15 years ago who tell me how valuable they found it. So I am indebted to John Wiley and all his sons, as well as to my editor Judith McCarthy and my agent Daphne Hart, all of whom saw that knowing how to argue well is a vital component of personal freedom and individual liberty.
This revised edition updates many examples, is rewritten for greater comprehension, and includes more pointers and tips. (Although there are a few old nuggets I could not bear to discard.) But the book keeps the spirit and feeling of the original that was so popular with readers. Throughout the text you will find displayed statements. These are either brief summaries of important points or tips for argument technique. They can serve as reminders and guides as you work through the material, and they will also serve as a quick refresher if you forget important elements. This revised edition also contains review exercises designed to insure that you grasp the important points and help you understand the material.
A great deal has changed in the academic field of Argumentation Theory since I wrote the first edition-in fact, the field barely existed then. Now it is a thriving arena of scholarship, with journals, conferences, courses, and competing approaches. Scholars from philosophy, communication theory, sociology, and psychology work together to understand this most important of human activities. I want to thank my colleagues around the world for their encouragement and kind words about this book.
It s still true that I recruited a multitude of missionaries along the way, many of whom stayed with me and continue to help. The impetus for the book came first from students in my courses and people at my talks and workshops, and this revised edition was urged upon me by many later students who felt cheated by Win s unavailability. From them, the oldtimers, and the newcomers, I culled examples and insights. Many spent time looking through newspapers and periodicals for juicy fallacies, and the book is richer for their contribution. Like any missionary I was often overzealous and obsessive-in short, annoying.
To my many wonderful friends who put up with me, who read the book, and who have given me support and encouragement, I give my love. York University, a fine educational institution, also deserves thanks. Finally, I would like to thank Lisa, Chris, Paul, Rachel, my wonderful wife Diane, and my son Zachary, to whom this edition is dedicated.
Michael A. Gilbert
Toronto
PART ONE

The Art of Argument
1

What Are We Arguing About?
I just don t want to argue about it.
Don t argue with me.
There s nothing to argue about, my mind is made up.
Stop arguing and listen.
These expressions and others like them are thrown at us from childhood. Early on, in our most tender years, we are just not allowed to argue. Later, in school, an arguer is often labeled troublemaker or, at the very least, uncooperative. Then, if you argue at work you re not pulling with the team, or perhaps you re just plain stubborn and still uncooperative. Currently, we are being told that argument is not socially acceptable. Now you re not supposed to argue with people; instead you re expected be sympathetic, caring, and, above all, not hurt anyone s feelings-political or otherwise. This is especially difficult when dealing with the argumentatively challenged. What is not clear is whether, after being emotionally sensitive and politically careful, can we then attack their arguments? No one seems to know.
With all this anti-argument propaganda it is no wonder that most of us argue so poorly. And this is the real problem: It is not argument that is objectionable, but bad argument that puts everyone off. We need to know the differences between good arguments and bad ones. A good argument shows what position a person holds, allows others to present their points of view, helps to reach and understand a decision, and does not tread people helplessly underfoot. The purpose of this book is to teach you about good argument-how to win one and how to experience the understanding, insight, and human contact that all good arguments engender.
Since very often the truth has little to do with winning or losing, the decision, even the knockout, may go to the sneakiest or slickest viewpoint, and not to the best or wisest. It can be very frustrating to lose an argument from lack of expertise, experience, or confidence about arguing , and not because you were wrong. If the outcome is important to you (perhaps a raise or promotion is at stake), your frustration will be that much greater as you tell yourself that you should have won. You should have been able to make that point or defeat that objection. But you did not.
What went wrong? What reply might have worked? What did you miss?
In the following example Our Hero is stymied. Our Hero is trying to persuade a clerk to give him two forms so that he will not have to get on another line.
OUR HERO : May I have a form for my driver s license renewal and a form for my car registration renewal, please?
CLERK : Here s your license renewal. You can get y