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13 WAYS TO WIN AN ARGUMENT

August 26, 2010, 2:33 pmmenshealth

Argue like a Great!

When you want to ace a debate, turn to Aristotle for help. He identified 13 Fallacies used

to win arguments. Heres how to benefit from them

BY NICKY WILLIAMS

1. ACCENT OR EMPHASIS Aka Emphasising words

Stressing key words can have a huge impact on the strength of your argument, says Alex Just,

former president of the Oxford Union debating team. Clinton did it famously with his use of that

woman to distance himself from Monica Lewinsky.

The situation An email using visual prompts.

Use it Im grateful for your professional opinion.

2. FIGURE OF SPEECH Aka Modifying words

Aristotle argued that if a word is constructed similarly to another, people assume they have a

similar meaning. So by tacking ism or ist at the end of a word, you convey your meaning without

having to explicitly state it.

The situation You want to accuse your opponent of being prejudiced.

Use it That sounds like a fat-ist viewpoint to me.

3. ACCIDENT Aka Making sweeping generalisations

A sweeping generalisation is a mental shortcut, says Dr Christopher Tindale, the author of

Fallacies and Argument Appraisal.

Our brains do not compute that the rule may only hold true for a minority of cases.

The situation Youre running out of evidence to support your case.

Use it Women are much worse drivers than men. They are always crashing.

4. AFFIRMING THE CONSEQUENT Aka Stretching the meaning of a word

This argument works because at first it makes sense, says philosopher Dr Gary Curtis, of

fallacyfiles.org, a website cataloguing logical fallacies. It relies on stretching the context of a word

to its limits, then hiding behind it.

The situation You need to justify your bad behaviour.

Use it It says healthy eating on the box for this cake, so its fine if I eat half of it in one go.

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5. CONVERSE ACCIDENT Aka Finding the exception to the rule

The exception to the rule is always an efficient weapon to poke holes in an opponents argument,

says Just. No matter how strong their case is, you can bring it to its knees with an unequivocal

piece of fact.

The situation You are in the wrong and need an escape route. Quick.

Use it Of course Im romantic I bought you flowers on Valentines Day.

6. AMPHIBOLY Aka Using ambiguous grammar to create confusion

If you deliberately use unclear grammar, what you say can be taken in a number of ways

depending on your opponents prejudices and agenda. And you can use this to your advantage,

putting your opponent off balance, says Austin Cline, philosophy expert for

problem-solving website about.com.

The situation You need a witty retort to silence a smug opponent.

Use it I often talk about sex with your girlfriend.

7. EQUIVOCATION Aka Supporting an argument with an argument

You can boost your argument by inferring that if A is true then B is, too. And if B is true, therefore

A is true, says Curtis.

Your opponent wont realise the arguments are supported by each other, rather than hard fact.

The situation You want to flatter yourself or others.

Use it If you can make women laugh, they find you attractive. Im funny, so she fancies me.

8. COMPOSITION Aka Thinking a group is defined by its parts

People assume a group takes on the characteristics of its members, says Cline. So mention

upstanding actions of friends and your opponent will assume that together theyll act the same.

The situation You want a night out with your mates, but your partner isnt keen.

Use it Ill be going out with Tim, he never drinks too much, so I wont be back late.

9. DIVISION Aka Success by association

This is the opposite of Composition, says Cline.

You apply the attributes of a group to yourself and bask in its reflected glory. It works best when

you want to make yourself stand out and shine.

The situation A job interview or on your CV.

Use it My attention to detail and work ethic are illustrated by the many awards my department has

won recently.

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10. IRRELEVANT CONCLUSION Aka Unrelated arguments

You can sometimes use two unrelated facts to prove a point, explains Tindale. When people are

emotional, they are often so fired up they fail to realise two facts arent linked.

The situation You want to oust someone from power.

Use it Since Gordon took over, productivity is down while complaints are up.

11. BEGGING THE QUESTION Aka Using an unproven fact to prove your point

This happens when you use an unproven but commonly believed fact to prove your case, says

Just. If you place enough emphasis on it, your opponent wont try to argue against it.

The situation You want to end the argument.

Use it Of course, if Tim Cahill played as an out and out striker, he would score even more goals

than he does at the moment.

12. FALSE CAUSE Aka Assuming theres a consequential connection between events in

time

This method works on the assumption that one event wouldnt have happened without the other,

says Madsen Pirie, the author ofHow To Win Every Argument.

The situation An argument in which your knowledge is poor.

Use it The week Rob became manager, fewer people came into the cafe, so it stands to reason

that its because of him.

13. THE FALLACY OF MANY QUESTIONS Aka The loaded question

This catches you off guard, says Douglas Rushkoff, the author ofWhy We Listen To What They

Say. Shop assistants are trained to ask, How may . . . , not, Can I help you?, as it makes you

think you asked for help.

The situation You think your girlfriend is cheating on you.

Use it Are you still seeing other people?

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