In Part I of
this post, I discussed why family members hate to discuss their chronic
repetitive ongoing interpersonal difficulties with each other
(metacommunication), and the problems that usually ensue whenever they
try.
I discussed the most common avoidance strategy - merely changing the subject (#1) - and suggested effective countermoves to keep a constructive conversation on track. In Part II, I discussed strategies #2 and #3, nitpicking and accusations of overgeneralizing respectively. In Part III, I discussed strategy #4, blame shifting. In Part IV, strategy #5, fatalism.
This post is the third in a series about strategy #6, the use of irrational arguments (previously: non sequiturs; post hoc reasoning). Descriptions of this strategy have been subdivided into several posts because, in order to counter irrational arguments, one first has to recognize them. I will hold off describing strategies to counter the irrational arguments until after I have finished describing some of the most common types.
Irrational arguments are used in metacommunication to throw other people. Listeners either become confused about, or unsure of the validity of, any point they are trying to make or question they are trying to ask. Fallacious arguments are also frequently used to avoid divulging an individual's real motives for taking or having taken certain actions.
The third major logical fallacy I will describe is begging the question. A person begging the
question merely insists that an assertion is proved without offering any proof
at all. If someone offers some evidence that the assertion is false, the beggar
states that the evidence must be incorrect. After all, since the assertion is
true, any evidence to the contrary must be faulty.
It might seem that the
absurdity of this kind of reasoning should be quite obvious when it occurs, but
it can be quite subtle. Often an intervening argument for the questionable
assertion is made by the beggar, which is then refuted by the disputer. The
beggar then goes on to offer yet another argument, which in turn is refuted.
This process continues until the beggar suddenly announces that he or she has
won the case - by ignoring all of the previously refuted arguments and merely re-offering the initial unproved assertion.
I first truly
understood this process one day in college when I caught myself doing it. I was
engaged in a friendly argument with a fellow student over the relative merits
of the space program during the sixties. My friend took the position that going
to the moon was a complete waste of money, because there were important human
needs here on earth for which the money could be used. I was and am of the
opinion that scientific knowledge is valuable for its own sake, but at the
time I was unable to formulate a convincing argument for that position.
Instead, I advanced the oft-used argument that the space program had yielded important
scientific by-products, such as Teflon, that were quite useful here on earth.
He countered that Teflon could have been invented for far less money by doing research on nonstick surfaces instead of moon flights. I then countered with, "But this way, we also get to the moon!"
He countered that Teflon could have been invented for far less money by doing research on nonstick surfaces instead of moon flights. I then countered with, "But this way, we also get to the moon!"
Another time when begging the question was used on me was when I was a trainee (resident) in psychiatry. Back in the Stone Age when I trained, most of the faculty members were Freudian psychoanalysts. When anyone dared question psychoanalytic dogma, they were told that they needed to get into therapy to find out why they were "resistant" to the ideas. Of course, the concept of resistance is itself a psychoanalytic concept, so the statement was in fact begging the question of the validity of a psychoanalytic concept.
Interestingly, the analysts' short sentence contained not one but three logical fallacies. It was not only begging the question, but was also a non-sequitur (perhaps the person was questioning the dogma for some reason other than subconscious resistance), and a personal attack as well. Personal attacks, or ad hominem arguments, are another fallacy I will discuss in a future post.
Begging the question is
a maneuver that occurs most often when people are being questioned about their
motivation but do not wish to reveal the true reasons for their behavior to others - or
perhaps even to themselves. They may assert that they behave in the way they do
because that is how they truly wish to behave or because they have no other
options.
If listeners present evidence that the behavior seems to be something that is bringing them a great deal of grief or if they offer other options, beggars will then either just ignore what the other person has said, invalidate it by making a snide comment, engage in a game of "why-don't-you-yes-but," or begin the process of-making further refutable arguments and then returning to the initial assertion as if it had been justified.
If listeners present evidence that the behavior seems to be something that is bringing them a great deal of grief or if they offer other options, beggars will then either just ignore what the other person has said, invalidate it by making a snide comment, engage in a game of "why-don't-you-yes-but," or begin the process of-making further refutable arguments and then returning to the initial assertion as if it had been justified.
A good example of
begging the question occurred in the case of a poorly educated employee of a
large manufacturing concern. Despite a horrendously abused childhood and a
lack of formal schooling, he had managed to rise to a fairly responsible position
with the firm. Then suddenly, through no fault of his own, the position was
eliminated. Because of further bad luck complicated by his own aggravating
behavior, he was gradually demoted and shifted to a department that he despised, and
continued to go downhill until he had become a glorified file clerk.
The more
responsibilities were taken from him, the more upset he became. The more upset
he became, the more poorly he performed in his job. The poorer the performance,
the more responsibility was taken from him, and so on. He felt that his
supervisor wished to get rid of him because he was being paid far too much for
his present position, but also believed that the supervisor was blocking his
transfer to another department in which he might get a more responsible job.
I wondered why, if it
were really true that he was unable to get out of the department and find a job
with which he would be satisfied, he did not seek employment with a different
firm. I conceded that such a move would be quite difficult considering his lack
of education, but pointed out that he had not even attempted to look.
He
replied that he did not wish to leave the firm. He stated that, in fact, he
loved working for this company; it was just his department he despised. I
pressed on. I pointed out that he had already told me that he could not get out
of the department because of his mean supervisor. Why was it so important for him to
stay with the same firm? He replied once again that he would not leave the firm
because he loved working for it. The conversation went something like this:
"The firm seems to
be very important to you. What is it about working for the firm that you love
so much?"
"They've been very
good to me."
"Well, they
certainly have been good to you - in the past. At the moment, however,
you've told me that they are not being very good to you at all."
"That is the
department that is being bad to me. I have
no complaint with the firm."
"I know that, but
you have told me that you are stuck with
the department. Don't you think you might find a different firm that you would
also like?"
"Yes,
I might be able to do that."
"So
why are you so intent on staying with your present firm?”
"I
want to get in twenty-five years with the firm."
"What
makes that important?"
"It
is important to my self-esteem" [a possible non sequitur that I let go].
"So
you'll consider leaving when you have been there twenty-five years?"
“No.”
"So
there must be another reason why you feel you must stay with the firm."
"I
don't want to give my supervisors the satisfaction of driving me out."
[This is another assertion that does not make very much sense. Why should
avoiding making them smug be worth daily torture at their hands? I avoided
touching on this also].
"Do
you really think they care all that much?"
"Probably
not."
"So
why stay?"
"I've
told you. The firm is very important to me. I love working for the firm. Okay?"
The
last statement was, of course, merely a restatement of his initial position
that did nothing whatever to shed light on why the firm was so important to
him. This is exactly what is meant by begging the question.
Wow what a nice post. I am impressed from it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for more sharing..............
Laith Salma