Chapter 6. Golden Rule 6: Watch out for crafty tricks

There are some nasty tricks that people can play when making arguments. Here are some. Watch out for your opponent using them against you.

In arguments you need to be subtle, watchful, alert and curious.

Attacking the person

Lady Astor to Churchill: “Winston, if you were my husband I would flavor your coffee with poison.”

Churchill: “Madam, if I were your husband, I should drink it.”

An all too common way of arguing is to avoid the argument and to attack the person. For those who like clever-sounding Latin, this is sometimes called an ad hominem (to the man) argument. Consider this:

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