John Henry Newman was talking about his own era, but his thoughts are relevant today: It were well if none remained boys all their lives; but what is more common than the sight of grown men, talking on political or moral or religious subjects, in that offhand, idle way, which we signify by the word …
Category: Dialectic
Rhetoric and Dialectic: The Difference and Why It Matters
Summary: Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, dialectic of verbal reasoning. Knowing the difference between the two will make you a better reader, listener, thinker, writer, and speaker. Introduction Sometimes a tool becomes so important to us, it’s impossible to imagine not having it. I tend to think of shoes, my pocket knife, and my …
Debiasing Desire an Interesting Paper
I found this paper, or rather, saw it linked on Twitter. It purports to criticize the behaviors of online dating platforms for their sexual racism, suggest that sexual selection is the result of more than individual choice, but rather of cultural factors as well, “In this view, individuals’ intimate affiliations are not the product of …
On the Importance of Philosophical Reasoning for Biblical Exegesis: Edward Feser and Romans 1:18-23
Introduction In my mind, the ability to engage in philosophical reasoning in order to tease out the implications of particular interpretations of the Bible and other truths is indispensable for reading the Bible and teaching it to others. Example Edward Feser, in a post titled, “Repressed Knowledge of God?” comments that the common interpretation of Romans …
The Hurt-Feelings Fallacy
The internet made me abreast of an informal fallacy which I have dubbed: The Hurt-Feelings Fallacy When a premise and/or conclusion of an argument hurts somebody’s feelings or hypothetically could do so in the future, then the argument is problematic. Because of this, the conclusion and the premises are all false. Similarly, if the corollaries …
Two Types of Honesty
There are two types of honesty: Frankness: Saying what you think/feel is true, simply. When one is being frank, you could speak complete untruths (objectively speaking) while still being honest. Scientific Accuracy: This mode of honesty is intentionally humble in the sense that you say what you think could provide evidence for, qualify what you …
Arthur Whimbey on Intelligence as a skill
Arthur Whimbey’s definition of intelligence: “Intelligence in an attentional/processing skill used in analyzing and mentally reconstructing relations. The distinguishing feature of this skill is breaking down complex relations (or problems) into small steps that can be dealt with fully. The major components of the skill are extensive search and careful apprehension of all details relevant …
Simplify Complex Problems Like Descartes
Ever Feel Stupid? Many of us wish we were smarter than we are. Rene Descartes even felt this way: “For myself, I have never fancied my mind to be in any respect more perfect than those of the generality; on the contrary, I have often wished that I were equal to some others in promptitude …
Dialectic: The Second Art of the Trivium
Introduction: What is dialectic? What is logic? The second liberal art is logic or dialectic. Dialectic typically refers to the practice of precise discussion, using a question and answer format with facts or apparent facts, to explain or get at the truth. It has another, less academic, use I’ll explain later. Logic is a more …