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The mind is like a parachute. It only works when it is open.
In all fairness, it must be mentioned that investigators are busy
documenting that self-deception may at times be beneficial to us
physically and emotionally (Snyder and Higgins, 1988; Taylor, 1989).
Examples would include certain kinds of rationalizations, excuses,
unrealistic optimism, denial of negative information, illusions
enhancing oneself, and so on. They make us feel better.
d. Attack the messenger --if you can't attack the person's
argument or reasoning, attack the person personally. If you don't like
what a person is arguing for but can't think of good counter
arguments, call the speaker names, such as Communist, homo,
women's libber, a dope, etc., or spread nasty rumors about him/her.
An "ad hominem" attack means "against the man," not the argument,
such as "If you aren't a recovered alcoholic, you can't know anything
about addiction."
Likewise, if you are being criticized by someone, there is a
tendency to counterattack with, "You do something that is worse than
that," which is totally irrelevant. Besmirching the speaker, "You're so
stupid," doesn't invalidate the message.
Another way to unfairly attack an argument is to weaken it by
making it look foolish. This is called a straw man argument. Examples:
The only reason to stop smoking is to save money. You won't make
love with me because you have a hang-up about sex.
e. Misleading analogies --making comparisons and drawing
conclusions that are not valid. Keep in mind, many analogies broaden
and clarify our thinking. But, other analogies often confuse our
reasoning, e.g. suppose you are arguing against nuclear arms by
saying that nothing could justify killing millions of innocent people.
Your opponent challenges, "Wouldn't you have the guts to fight if
someone were raping your daughter?" That is a silly, irrelevant, hostile
analogy which is likely to stifle any additional intelligent discussion.
Suppose someone expresses an idea and others laugh at it. The
person might respond, "They laughed at (some great person) too!" But
that is hardly proof that his/her idea is great. Many foolish ideas have
been laughed at too.
f. Citing authority --reverence for a leader or scholar or authority
can lead us astray. Aristotle was revered for centuries; he was smart
but not infallible. We are raised to respect authorities: "My daddy says
so," "My instructor said...," "Psychologists say...," "The Bible says...."
Some people become true believers: "Karl Marx said...," "The
