Rules for Communication Flashcards
All of the rules are:
- Rule of freedom
- Duty of defence rule
- Position rule
- Rule of relevance
- Concealed argument rule
- Rule of principle
- Argument diagram rule
- Rule of validity
- Use of language rule
what does the rule of freedom fobid in communication
Pretending the opponent is stupid or evil;
Making insinuations (e.g. the opponent has personal reasons to defend a position);
Undermining the opponent’s credibility
Duty of defence rule
A discussant formulating a position is obliged to defend it when asked.
What are the common fallacy of the Duty of Defence rule?
“You go ahead and prove it is not the case” is an example of shifting the burden of proof.
Reasonable exceptions may be made of this.
Position rule
An attack on a position must relate to the actual position formulated by the opponent. This means that you need to have a clear idea of it.
What are Fallacies in the Position rule?
To misinterpret the opponent’s position or to attribute a fictious position to them which is easier to attack. Taking positions out of their context; simplifying or exaggerating them
Rule of Relevance
A position may only be defended by giving arguments that have a bearing on it
What are Fallacies in the Rule of Relevance?
Playing on emotions and feelings of the audience; on prejudices and sentiments
Concealed argument Rule
A discussant may not falsely claim that the opponent has concealed arguments, or evade responsibility for his own concealed arguments.
What are Fallacies in the Concealed argument rule
To inflate what has been concealed; to deny a concealed argument
Rule of Principle
Something may not wrongly be claimed as a shared principle, or wrongly be denied to be a shared principle
What are Fallacies in the Rule of Principle?
Assumptions: How many people have you argued with today?
Circular argument: Discrimination is an offence, because it is illegal
Argument diagram Rule
A position may not be considered to have been adequately defended if the defence has not taken the shape of an appropriate and correctly used argument diagram
What are Fallacies in the Argument diagram rule?
Argument from authority, appeal to popularity, appeal to the masses.
It is not true, because it must not be true.
Or:
It is true, because it must be true.
In other words, to confuse facts for norms, to use false analogies, to extrapolate into absurdity, to suggest incorrectly that there is a connection between phenomena.
Rash generalisation
Rule of Validity
The reasoning expressed in arguemtnation has to be valid or it must be possible to validate it by making one or more concealed arguments explicit.
