Through this era of social media, we’ve all seen how easily and passionately people can get sucked into an argument – especially if its over politics. Even those who’ve been completely outclassed with logic and information seem unwilling to bend and admit defeat…and can even come away convinced that they won. There’s logic and skill to this, and it was discussed in-depth way back in 1800s by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. He found 38 tricks for victory, even when you’re hopelessly defeated. Here are some of the best:
- Under The Skin (Trick 8) –Get your opponent riled up to the point where they can’t be rash and logical. Then you can rarely lose as you’ve already won by getting them so pissed.
- Colorful Language (Trick 12) –This is the most frequently used. Accuse them of being a “religious zealot,” “fanatic,” or maybe their an “embarrassment.” Choose the words that will overpower and drop the hammer.
- Confidence/Arrogance (Trick 14) –Even if you’re getting your ass whipped and all your questions answered, you can still boldly declare victory and triumph. If you’re opponent is weak or not so bright, this can actually work and leave them storming off in a huff.
- Egging On (Trick 23) –Constantly contradicting can lead them to passionate exaggeration. When this happens, their original point can get lost, and then you pounce by pointing their exaggerated untruths.
- Make Up Facts (Trick 30) –With no books or research at-hand, just making stuff up to back up your argument is a handy tool. Now, smartphones and Google and thwart this, but when they do, you can just make up something else to torpedo that.
- Humility (Trick 31) –On the other hand, you can walk away looking good by just saying that “what you’re saying is so heady and above my comprehension level that I’m just going to walk away from it without responding.” If you do it right, you can have spectators believing that what’s being said is total jibberish…even when it’s not.
- Superiority (Trick 32) –This one’s tried and true. When getting outmatched, it’s easy to just categorize and some form of elitism or fanaticism and call it beneath you. You see it in words like: rationalism, atheism, spiritualism, naturalism, and all kinds of other “ism”s.
Source:Intellectual Takeout