I am beside myself in wonder. I do not understand how so many people fail at presenting an argument and carrying on a debate. I am baffled at how many people fail to grasp logic, either to see how it’s being used, misused, or ignored, or in using it on their own end. This is not about the current presidential campaign, though I am encountering it with greater frequency, because I have had this happen to me more times than I can count! In fact, I would have an easier time counting the number of times I had a debate with someone who accurately used logic, and could follow (and criticize) the logic being employed. More times than not the debates I have entered into with people quickly degenerate into some form of name calling (I’m usually the one being called names) at which point I quit the debate and wonder if my relationship with the other party has been irreparably damaged.
How did this happen? How have we, as a society, failed to grasp the basic tenets of logic, of progression, of deduction? Why is the syllogism so difficult to grasp and use? Seriously, I do not understand how people are easily duped into believing information that is obviously suspect. I stand around with my jaw agape (usually not literally) at how people can believe a conclusion without the premise and the supporting evidence. Is this a problem of our educational system? Is this a genetic problem? Is it a lack of maturity? Will we just stop allowing people to finish their speeches when they do this? It would make my life so much more enjoyable.
Nothing gets my blood boiling faster and fiercer than people who disabuse logic.