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 You Can't Win This Argument
It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.- William G. McAdoo,
US industrialist, lawyer, & politician (1863 - 1941)Walking away from an argument when you know you're right is right up there among the mostdifficult things we can do.However, remaining to argue when there is no possibility of winning qualifies as questionable judgment. Arguing with an ignorant man is one of those unwinnable fights.This is "ignorant" in the sense of "not knowing," not in the more commonly used meaning of "rude."An adult who knows very little about anything grew up fighting an uphill battle. With no wealthof information at his disposal he had to depend on his wits to win anything.Experience would teach him that winning with his wits would be very difficult because wit can'tsubstitute for verifiable facts for long in a debate, even a friendly one. He learned that the bestway to win any argument (in his mind) was to dig in his heels and maintain his position evenwhen the burden of fact weighed heavily against him.Winning an argument in the mind of such a person means being the last man standing, notdefeating the enemy on the basis of well presented set of data. He knows from abundantexperience that if he can't win on the basis of fact, he can be the last man in the debate withdogged persistence at maintaining his position.In North America, for example, a smoker who argues in favour of his continuing to smoke issuch a person. Facts such as that tobacco contains poisons, that it contributes to the prematuredeaths of thousands each year and compromises the health of countless more, that's its sociallyoffensive to a majority of people or that cigarette smoke permeates upholstery and remains therefor ages to stink up furniture mean nothing to him.He will maintain that it's his fundamental civil right to smoke and that smoking gives himenjoyment. Nothing will knock him off that pedestal, even if governments and supreme courtsrule that we have no right to kill ourselves slowly or to kill others with second hand smoke, or even to offend others with the smoke residue of our habit.What the ignorant man believes is the foundation on which he has built his meagre life.You can't shake him from that foundation by argument, no matter how valid the data, becausewithout that foundation he would have to admit that his life is worthless. No one will admit tothat readily.The best advice for situations when you see a discussion heading for argument because one partyholds firmly to a position based on belief rather than on fact is to walk away from it. The
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