Tips for Arguing Effectively

Here are some tips to use if you want to argue effectively:

Tips for arguing effectively

By Mark Christensen

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Argue: To prove or evince; too manifest or exhibit by inference, deduction, or reasoning. -Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. Ask yourself why you are arguing in the first place. What is your goal when entering into the conversation? What is your desired outcome? What do you believe the other person’s goal is? Does this conversation really have to take place? Is it that essential? Will the world keep turning if you decide to let it go? Considering these questions beforehand can result in saving a lot of time.

2. Calm down. Getting all heated up doesn't prove that you feel passionately about an issue, it just makes it look like you can't control your emotions. Also it shows that your emotions are at a high level, and when emotions are at a high level, a person's ability to reason drops.

3. Be respectful. Don’t put down the other party if they disagree with you. Don’t imply that there’s something wrong with them just because they don’t see things the way you do. Keeping the conversation civil is important.

4. Never assume. Don’t assume what the other party believes unless the person has specifically said that’s what they believe. This often occurs when people stereotype. (i.e. You don’t support prohibition, so I assume you must think drinking alcohol is good [there are many reasons why a person would not support prohibition; things aren't so black and white)

5. Know what logical fallacies are, and avoid them. It's true; there are a lot of argument strategies that you just can't use. They're used all the time in politics and in media, but those are usually geared toward people who can't pick up on them. If you use a logical fallacy in an argument with someone who is familiar with fallacies, you will lower your credibility big time.

Here’s a list of some: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies

6. Never assume things are black and white: either/or fallacy. This is also a logical fallacy, but it's important enough to include in this list. Taking an "us vs. them" approach is common with people who are extremely set in their ways. And if you’re extremely set in your ways, you have no business in being in an argument. This is because in order to have a civil argument, both parties must be open to listening to what the other party has to say. So if you refuse to listen to the other party, you can't expect them to listen to what you have to say. This kind of thinking also leads to an "either you're with us or against us" attitude, which is a fallacy and can be dangerous in some cases (i.e. Bush after 9/11).

7. When citing data that can be scientifically tested, make sure what you cite is a consensus in the scientific field. You can find any survey or study that will back up your view, that's why in order to turn something from a hypothesis into a thesis, there needs to be multiple studies that eventually result in a consensus within the particular field. (A consensus doesn't necessarily mean it is fact, but just that it is the truest that has been proven so far: a thesis. i.e. the theory of gravity, the theory of relativity, the theory of evolution) Also, know what the scientific method is, and how it works, and make sure you know what the difference between a hypothesis and a theory is. (especially if you're going to argue about evolution)

8. It's always best to appeal to logic. Reason always works best. In some cases, however, it’s okay to appeal to authority. (Given that the authority holds up to the criteria for what can be considered as a good authority. i.e. the authority has to be an authority in a field where there is a consensus. So appealing to a religious authority won't work)

9. Don’t appeal to emotion. In a lot of cases you can appeal to emotion and get away with it. Politics and media do it all of the time. However, it is the worst kind of appeal you can use, and if you’re arguing with someone who doesn’t respond to emotional arguments, your credibility will go down the drain.

10. Learn to deal with it/ know when to let it go. If you argue just to win, you will often walk away dissatisfied. The desired outcome to any argument should be a win/win situation. This can only be achieved through collaboration, which takes work from both parties. This doesn’t mean that both parties have to agree with each other, but it does mean that both parties need to understand that they can’t solve everything just in one conversation, and if they aren’t able to inform the other party properly, they learn to just deal with it. After all, we all care about each other, otherwise we wouldn’t be arguing in the first place.

Proposition 8????

So by now i think everyone knows that i oppose proposition 8. Some of you have asked me what my reasons are, some of you didn't ask and i told you anyway, and some of you don't care. Truth is, i have many reasons. However, i believe it's probably not the best idea to get "up in everyones faces" about it because i don't want to make it seem like i want to change peoples mind's. Plus, y'all get so darn passionate about it, it's difficult to hold a civil conversation.

Truthfully, the issue doesn't really affect me, that's i don't get very "worked up" about it like people on both sides do. However, i have been forced to give the issue much thought due to the fact that most of my family support the proposition.

In conversation, due to my poor verbal skills, i am unable to adequately present to you the reasons why i oppose the proposition. I am tempted to write a research paper concerning the issue, and I've found a lot of good sources that i could use in it. Unfortunately, i am swamped with school at the moment, so i am unable to devote the time that would be needed to sufficiently state my case. If i write on the issue, i would make sure it is in-depth, covers both sides of the argument adequately, provides arguments that are free from fallacies, and provides valid evidence to support my conclusion.

I won't be able to write this paper by the election, but i may have time to write it over Christmas break. By then, the issue won't be as topical, and it would be released at a time when the issue isn't as "hot headed," so to speak, which would increase the chances of people actually reading the paper the whole way through. Also, if the paper is released after the election, this would prove that the purpose of the paper would not be to influence people's votes, rather, it would be to inform. And that's all i really want to do, inform people, explain the reasoning behind my opposition.

-Mark

Poem #1

So I'm currently taking an English Literature class, and we're now learning about poetry. What's kinda silly about the class is that we take poems (some of them being absurdly simple) and attempt to interpret hidden meanings. It's really just a waste of time. Anyways, since it seems like anyone can be a poet (because it's so bloody subjective), i have decided to take a crack at writing poetry. So here's one for you all to read. Now after you read it, i want you to leave a comment with your analysis of the poem. What's the meaning? What's the theme? The tone? Go a head, pick it apart.


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"The Darkness of Day"
By Mark Christensen


I stand in a large field in Nebraska,
Mid-afternoon, it is, the Sun's left its height!
The smell of copper-rain in tide,
It mimics my mood, a duel inside,

The sky--Growing dark, a grim gradient of rays
And Thunderclouds rise in the sky to my right.
I don't know, but I think, if it's the darkest of days,
What more would it be but the brightest of night?

I'm wrong. It is what it is, it does what it does
I think what i think, and that's not just because
It's all just a field, a dark storm on my right
It's not just a day that's dressed up as the night.

I cannot tell if it's coming or going, the storm
And the sky, and I'm in between.
There may be no use, but i wish i was knowing
(As the grass in the field is a half-shade of green.)

Which way the storm-towing wind blows?
"Bring it on or take it away!" I say, to that--on my right
Everything dies, and on my left, everything grows
In the darkness of day or the brightness of night.

Mark's Video Showcase

Ok, so I've decided to showcase on this blog some of my favorite videos that I've done in the past. I've done a lot of professional work that will never be seen in public. These videos are just the ones i can show, the ones i did in my spare time.

enjoy!


So the first one i have to show you is probably my most popular video.
This is a tribute video i made for the great Charles Chaplin. The song used in the videos is from a band called JFive. This is one of the biggest projects I've worked on, which is pretty amazing how it turned out because i did it all on my own. I set up a green screen in my back yard and went to town. If you only watch one of my videos, watch this one!

Now the next video is a video i made a very long time ago. I filmed it with my sisters and the raw footage sat on the shelf for a few years. Then, when the Sierra College video festival was coming up i decided to edit it into something nice. It ended up winning an award, so that was cool. It's a silent (which i prefer) and it is steeped in symbolism. If you want to know the meaning, ask me.

The next video is the latest video i made. I wanted to put clips from all my favorite movies into one sequence. That way when someone asks me what my favorite movies are, all i have to do is show them this clip. The editing for this was tough to get just right, but i really liked doing it because i edited each clip as if it were for a movie trailer.

The following two videos are videos that i made with a couple of other Sierra College students. I directed "So Close," and i edited both of them.

Comedies are fun to make, but i also like making serious stuff. In Plato's Symposium, Socrates speaks of a good poet being able to do both comedy and tragedy with ease. I like to think i am able to do both. The comedies are fun, but the tragedies mean much more to me.

And now a 180; here's a good old fashioned funny:

Here's a couple of smaller projects i've done.. just for fun!

And finally, here is a short film i did when i was bored one afternoon. I spent months in post-production playing around with different special effect techniques. It was good practice for the Chaplin video.