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Apr 14, 20224 min read
Hyperbole
In a series of posts on persuasive language, commonly referred to as rhetoric, I mentioned some rhetorical devices that can make a...
May 25, 20215 min read
Inaugural Rhetoric
Try as I might to find a five-dumbbell example of recent political rhetoric, they seem to be in short supply these days. Liz Cheney gave...
May 12, 20215 min read
Is All Fair in Love and Rhetoric?
At the end of the last post in this series on rhetoric, I indicated that things often considered positive qualities, such as fairness and...
May 5, 20214 min read
Rhetoric - Turning the Tables
In the last piece in this series on rhetoric, I talked about how to defend yourself against someone trying to get the best of you in a...
Apr 25, 20215 min read
Rhetoric - Controlling an Argument
[Note: Some of today’s posting comes from a chapter on rhetoric in Critical Voter.] In the last posting in this series on rhetoric, I...
Apr 13, 20213 min read
Rhetoric - Schemes and Tropes
I hope you enjoyed the recent series about the role critical-thinking can play in ethical decision making through an analysis of cases in...
Mar 3, 20213 min read
More Than Mere Rhetoric
[Note: Some of today’s posting comes from a chapter on rhetoric in Critical Voter.] Before launching into a discussion of persuasive...
Feb 18, 20217 min read
"Regardless of Intent"
I wanted to use this week’s LogicChecker to introduce a set of techniques that can increase the power of an argument through strategic...
Oct 16, 20203 min read
Equivocation
When it comes to critical thinking, the ambiguity inherent in language can easily lead to the fallacy of equivocation.
Jan 27, 20204 min read
Economy
The Principle of Economy says you are better off trying to capture what you are trying to say in the fewest number of statements possible.
Jan 23, 20203 min read
Charity
The Principle of Charity asks you to engage with the strongest version of an opponent's argument.
Jan 17, 20203 min read
Accuracy
Accurate translation ensure that we are debating the argument someone actually made.
Jan 7, 20203 min read
Language
Translating everyday communication into unambiguous premises and conclusions of arguments is as much an art as a science.