Category Archives: Rhetoric

Is Ad Hominen A Logical Fallacy When Applied To Internet Debates? (8-2-21)

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Luke Ford

08:00 That Noble Dream: The ‘Objectivity Question’ and the American Historical Profession, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=138784 10:00 Ad hominem, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem 15:00 John Locke, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke 32:00 Argument from authority, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority 48:00 Bernadotte Everly Schmitt, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernadotte_Everly_Schmitt

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The Principle Of Charity

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Luke Ford

I just discovered this principle and it is awesome. According to Wikipedia: “In philosophy and rhetoric, the principle of charity or charitable interpretation requires interpreting a speaker’s statements in the most rational way possible and, in the case of any … Continue reading →

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A Field Guide to Thoughtstoppers

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Luke Ford

John Michael Greer writes: A thoughtstopper is exactly what the term suggests: a word, phrase, or short sentence that keeps people from thinking. A good thoughtstopper is brief, crisp, memorable, and packed with strong emotion. It’s also either absurd, self-contradictory, … Continue reading →

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Steve Sailer: Two Modes of Intellectual Discourse: Taking Everything Personally v. Debate as Sport

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Luke Ford

Steve Sailer writes in 2012: Much of the intellectual progress the world has made over the millennia is due to men managing to turn argument into sport rather than either a test of popularity or of physical strength. …the superiority … Continue reading →

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When ‘obsessed’ is used as a put-down, I know the accuser doesn’t have honor and doesn’t have an argument

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Luke Ford

I notice that in online wars, one of the first put-downs used is “obsessed.” If somebody writes frequently about one topic, the person is “obsessed” if you don’t like what he writes, be it on Jews, blacks, WASPs, Chinese, Republicans, … Continue reading →

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