Stormbringer's Thunder

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Because humans are complicated beings, we respond to a number of different stimuli. Some are at very basic reflex and chemistry levels, such as "fight or flight". At the other end of the spectrum, we can intelligently consider various pieces of information and arrive at reasonable conclusions. Somewhere in the middle is the complication of emotions. Although they can respond to logic when recognized and a decision is made to bring them under control, they often arise unbidden. People have been "thinking" through their emotions for a very long time; I believe it is worse now than it used to be. There are people who want to manipulate others through emotions (whether deliberately or intentionally) , and we need to be on guard against such tactics. That is one reason I wrote a series about common logical fallacies . By recognizing fallacies and the way so many are based on appeals to emotions , we are less likely to fall for tricks, and can ...

Know how atheists prove that they are right, evolution is true? They attack and ridicule. That's it. No logic, no evidence, just bolstering their egos and dodging the truth by attacking people. It seems that theophobes are not always unaware of their lack of reasoning abilities. In fact, they actively use them to self-justify their hatred of God, Christians and the Bible. Further, they attempt to manipulate emotions to convince people that they are correct in their dreadful quote mining and misrepresentation of the Bible. Knowledgeable Christians are not fooled by these childish displays on the pooling of ignorance sites, but we are dismayed that people can be so vituperative in their ignorance. Further, skeptics think that because they make accusations, they deserve the benefit of the doubt. But that is not the case . A series of articles at the "True Free Thinker" Weblog takes on some of the bad logic and manipulation of certain obstreperous misotheists and their sites...

Having been interested in political matters as well as spiritual, it gives me some interesting opportunities for observation. I am not saying that I'm unique and special in this area, but when I hang around with Biblical apologists, they do not seem to have much interest in politics, and vice versa. Things I have learned about logic and apologetics have applied to political rhetoric quite nicely. There are a few things that I would like to explain to you, the viewing audience, to use during the rest of the American 2012 political season. Learn some basics.  I have some "Logic Lessons" (emphasizing informal logical fallacies) listed in the margin on this Weblog. Although they are focused on Christian apologetics and vituperative atheists have kindly supplied me with several excellent illustrations, the points made should translate to other areas, including politics. Also, there are links to other sites in those articles for further information on the logical fallacies. E...

Buon giorno.  This article has been buzzing around in my mind for quite some time, and I finally decided to put it down in pixels. But I do not wish to spend a great deal of time explaining the Appeal to Emotion because I am tired. There are certain aspects that I want to bring to your attention. Also note that this, like many other fallacies, is not simply cut-and-dried; it will often overlap with other fallacies, and sometimes it is difficult to spot at all. Other times, the appearance of a fallacy can be deceiving. For instance, when attempting to motivate people, showing a direct cause to what we want them to do will usually provoke an emotional response, and that can be valid. It is not evil manipulation or a fallacy. A good explanation of the Appeal to Emotion fallacy is here . What I want to discuss is how people will use this red herring to distract you from your discussion or objective with an irrelevant appeal to emotion. (After all, elections, various causes, ar...

This article almost went unwritten, as there are already several good ones explaining the straw man fallacy. But I committed to writing this series, and I can add my own thoughts as well. The straw man fallacy — everybody does it, it seems. Especially when getting caught up in the emotion of a hea ted exchange of words . However, it is my belief that many people choose to use this fallacy for the sake of provoking emotion in their opponent. If the opponent falls for the trick, then the antagonist can provoke further and "win" the argument on emotion, not facts. "What on Earth are you babbling about, Cowboy Bob?" Now I'll tell you what it is, and maybe you can remember the traps of this nature that owlhoots set for you. Straw man, Flickr / H. Michael Miley ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) In simplest terms, the straw man argument is when someone will take your statement, argument, beliefs, or position and build a false version of it to tear down:  It  is a misre...