UKIP Interview

[Mich the Tester]

Dismissing an argument Ad Hominem might not be strictly logical when considering an argument purely on it's own merits but it's a useful heuristic that saves a lot of time that would otherwise be spent seeking logical flaws in arguments created by idiots, so in the grander scheme of things it's perfectly rational. There are a lot of people who aren't worth listening to, even if they are occasionally correct about some things.

It's not really all that useful when weighing up the pros and cons of national policies and economic choices in the light of international economic and social circumstances though.

[doodab]

It's not really all that useful when weighing up the pros and cons of national policies and economic choices in the light of international economic and social circumstances though.

It depends. I think if your dealing with someone where it's obvious you have fundamental philosophical disagreements you're better off spending your time getting your own ideas straight than wasting it critiquing theirs.

With Farage for example, I see no point listening to him in depth because I disagree that Europe is the primary cause of the problems he's trying to solve.

[Mich the Tester]

It depends. I think if your dealing with someone where it's obvious you have fundamental philosophical disagreements you're better off spending your time getting your own ideas straight than wasting it critiquing theirs.

Perhaps, but remember that an argument might not be about convincing your interlocutor, but about convincing an audience.

[doodab]

Perhaps, but remember that an argument might not be about convincing your interlocutor, but about convincing an audience.

It might, but unless they are trained logicians Ad Hominem is likely to be as effective as many other means of attack. That's why we see it used so often.

[speling bee]

It might, but unless they are trained logicians Ad Hominem is likely to be as effective as many other means of attack. That's why we see it used so often.

That and the fact they're cretinous tools.

[vetran]

out of curiosity would leaving the EU stop the abuse of tax agreements (which would need to be renegotiated) so the big multinationals can avoid paying UK tax?

[darmstadt]

Perhaps, but remember that an argument might not be about convincing your interlocutor, but about convincing an audience.

It might, but unless they are trained logicians Ad Hominem is likely to be as effective as many other means of attack. That's why we see it used so often.

You've both convinced me of whatever it you're arguing about, now stop using big words, facts and logic

[doodab]

out of curiosity would leaving the EU stop the abuse of tax agreements (which would need to be renegotiated) so the big multinationals can avoid paying UK tax?

Judging by the dual tax treaties we have with countries outside of the EU my guess would be no.

[darmstadt]

out of curiosity would leaving the EU stop the abuse of tax agreements (which would need to be renegotiated) so the big multinationals can avoid paying UK tax?

Whats the EU got to do with it? Last year Thames Water made profits of more than half a billion yet paid no corporation tax and even got the Treasury to give them a 5 million credit. They can do this as they work through various Cayman based shell companies (apparently) and anyway, their majority shareholder is not European but an Australian investment bank...

[Mich the Tester]

It might, but unless they are trained logicians Ad Hominem is likely to be as effective as many other means of attack. That's why we see it used so often.

Unfortunately you are right. Straw man is a common one too. It's actually quite difficult for an intelligent person to explain things in a way that would convince a stupid person of some cause without resorting to the very tactics we're criticising. Quite simply, a stupid person 'reasons' in a way which is so irrational it is beyond the comprehension of a (comparatively) rational person, and a rational person struggles to construct an argument sufficiently irrational to convince a stupid person.