When I get into arguments about change, not heated ones if possible, but deliberate ones, I sometimes feel like I’m playing cards with the other participants. Some participants play their hands like we’re playing bridge, while others seem to want to play poker.
To help me keep things straight I have pulled together the various types of arguments that I have run into (and with the help of Fallacy: The Counterfeit of Argument) over the years and have assigned them to various cards in a normal modern deck of playing cards. I have tried to place a “Reasonable Argument” alongside a “Counterfeit Argument.”
So to answer the question of whether one is playing with a full deck in an argument about change, you may want to consider this deck before claiming you are.
In any case, please let me know what you think.
Thanks.
John
PS: Just in case this effort becomes too serious for you, take a break and watch this Monty Python Argument Clinic.
John's Argument Card Deck
Card/Counterfeit Argument/Reasonable Argument
Clubs
2 Clubs: Unnecessary Vagueness/Desirable Clarity
3 Clubs: Colored Words/Descriptive Words
4 Clubs: Idiosyncratic Language (Jargon)/Common Terms
5 Clubs: Ambiguous Terms/Defined Terms
6 Clubs: Ambiguous Accent/Deliberate Accent
7 Clubs: Misuse of Word Roots (Etymology)/Appropriate Word Root
8 Clubs: Hidden Personification/True Characterization
9 Clubs: Over-Precision/Sufficient Accuracy
10Clubs:Word Magic/Significant Words
J Clubs: Ambiguous Punctuation or Word Order/Clarifying Punctuation & Order
Q Clubs: Reification/Authentication
K Clubs: Double Talk/Plain Talk
A Clubs: Lip Service/Verifiable Communication
Diamonds
2 Diamonds: Composition and Division/Structure and Integration
3 Diamonds: The Undistributed Middle Term/Proper Link of Beginning to End
4 Diamonds: Suppressed Quantification/Expressed Quantification
5 Diamonds: Trouble with Conditionals and Alternatives/Clarified Conditions
6 Diamonds: Circular Definitions and Question Begging/SMART Definitions
7 Diamonds: Faulty Causal Generalization/Proven, Specific Causation
8 Diamonds: Assuming the Cause (“Post hoc reasoning”)/Examine the Cause
9 Diamonds: Unrepresentative Generalization/Representative Generalization
10Diamonds: False Conversion of Propositions/Correct Proposition Conversion
J Diamonds: Non-Exhaustive Classification/Exclusive Classification
QDiamonds: False Dilemma/True Dilemma
KDiamonds: Non Sequitur/Follows Logically
A Diamonds: Faulty Analogy/Acceptable Analogy
Hearts
2 Hearts: Appeal to Tradition or Faith/Appreciate Tradition and Faith
3 Hearts: Relativism/Significantly Coherent Relations
4 Hearts: Demand for Special Consideration/Request Proportional Consideration
5 Hearts: Appeal to Authority/Respect for Authority
6 Hearts: Red Herring (“Insistence on Irrelevancies”)/Relevancy
7 Hearts: Self-Righteousness/Self-Governance
8 Hearts: Impress with Large Numbers/Appreciate Numbers
9 Hearts: Pointing to Another Wrong/Focus on Correct Wrong
10 Hearts: Gambler’s Mistake/Understand the Odds
J Hearts: Impossible Conditions/Possible Conditions
Q Hearts: Wishful Thinking/Hopeful Thinking
K Hearts: The Wicked Alternative/The Common Good Alternative
A Hearts: Finding the “Good” Reason/Sound Reasoning
Spades
2 Spades: Pomp and Circumstance/Sincere Celebration
3 Spades: Invincible Ignorance (“Apriorism”)/Invincible Truth
4 Spades: Popular Passions/Compassion for People
5 Spades: Cultural Bias/Appreciation of Cultures
6 Spades: Consider the Source/Benefit of the Doubt
7 Spades: Having It Both Ways/Principle of Non-Contradiction
8 Spades: Creating Misgivings/Passing Over and Returning
9 Spades: Personal Attack (“Ad Hominem”)/Personal Support
10 Spades: Nothing but Objections/Loyal Opposition
J Spades: Forestalling Disagreement/Accepting Disagreement
Q Spades: All or Nothing/Compromise ("Something may be better than nothing")
K Spades: Humor and Ridicule/Laughter with, not at
A Spades: Abandonment of the Discussion/Renewed Discussion
Joker: Misleading Myth/Paradoxical Mystery
Joker: Fallacious Lie/Evident Fact
