How to Win Every Argument PDF

Sound reasoning is the basis of winning at argument. Logical
fallacies undermine arguments. They are a source of enduring
fascination, and have been studied for at least two-and-a-half
millennia. Knowledge of them is useful, both to avoid those used
inadvertently by others and even to use a few with intent to
deceive. The fascination and the usefulness which they impart,
however, should not be allowed to conceal the pleasure which
identifying them can give.
I take a very broad view of fallacies. Any trick of logic or language which allows a statement or a claim to be passed off as
something it is not has an admission card to the enclosure
reserved for fallacies. Very often it is the case that what appears
to be a supporting argument for a particular contention does not
support it at all. Sometimes it might be a deduction drawn from
evidence which does not sustain it.
Many of the fallacies are committed by people genuinely
ignorant of logical reasoning, the nature of evidence, or what
counts as relevant material. Others, however, might be committed by persons bent on deception. If there is insufficient force
behind the argument and the evidence, fallacies can add enough
weight to carry them through.