The Argument Clinic



Please watch up to 3:44.



Notice that although this clip is meant to be humorous it is actually also making the three points that we just learned.

1. In the first room we have an example of a verbal fight/name calling.
2. In the second room we have an example of mere contradiction.
3. An accurate definition of argument is given at 2:12.  "An argument is a collected series of statements to establish a definite proposition.

Media Analysis: High Fructose Corn Syrup

Check out the public relations ad. Can you identify any of the "tricks" the psychologists use to try to leverage a specific conclusion without any actual argument?



What about this article which reports a direct link between high fructose corn syrup and pancreatic cancer?

Media Analysis: The Elephant in the Living Room

The central issue for most people right now it the current economic crisis. What is the most "radical" analysis of what is happening from a critical thinking perspective? By 'radical' I don't mean crazy or anarchistic, but what analysis (following the etymology of the word 'radical') "gets to the root" of the problem. Consider the following rather clear explanation of how money is generated:



Did you learn any of this in school? Have you heard anything about this in the media? If this is correct all discussions about "over-spending" and the like are a giant red-herring away from the main issue. Consider the following quotation from one of our most respected former Presidents, Abraham Lincoln:

"The government should create, issue and circulate all the currency and credit needed to satisfy the spending power of the government and the buying power of consumers..... The privilege of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of Government, but it is the Government's greatest creative opportunity. By the adoption of these principles, the long-felt want for a uniform medium will be satisfied. The taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest, discounts and exchanges. The financing of all public enterprises, the maintenance of stable government and ordered progress, and the conduct of the Treasury will become matters of practical administration. The people can and will be furnished with a currency as safe as their own government. Money will cease to be the master and become the servant of humanity. Democracy will rise superior to the money power."

Here's where the last clip left off. A little more on 'compound interest.' Good thing we were all taught about his in math class (not):



Notice how, if all of this is correct, the whole 'left'-'right' dynamic is itself a distraction (red herring) away from the central issue that is effecting the entire planet. If you fall for this, you're falling for the oldest trick in the book: divide and conquer! Time to think for yourself people.

Parting thought:

"Whoever controls the volume of money in our country is absolute master of all industry and commerce...when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate."

-James Garfield, 20th President

Did you learn how long he lasted in history class?

Letterman v. O'Reilly

Can you spot the relevant fallacy? Shouldn't be hard. Letterman's response serves as an excellent example of how to undermine fallacious thinking.