We all know people who are incredibly persuasive. In this concise book the philosophy of persuasion is parsed in 38 subtle rules that will give you the magic formula to achieve success in work and life. Find out when to: • Counter bad arguments with bad arguments / • Claim victory despite defeat / • Anger your opponent / • Lying is permitted. In this practical yet entertaining book, AC Grayling has skilfully edited Arthur Schopenhauer's posthumous work for the modern reader and provided additional text of his own. Schopenhauer, eclipsed at university by Hegel (whom he thought a fraud), made the topic of this book the study of a lifetime. Here are his conclusions in 38 handy hacks anyone can use.
The Art of Always Being Right : The 38 Ways to Win an Argument
Description
Table of Contents
The Truth (A C Grayling)
Introduction (A C Grayling)
The Art of Always Being Right
1 Extension
2 Homonyms
3 Generalise your opponent’s specific statements
4 Conceal your game
5 False premises
6 Postulate what has to be proven
7 Yield admissions through questions
8 Make your opponent angry
9 Question in detouring order
10 Take advantage of the no-sayer
11 Generalise admissions of specific cases
12 Choose metaphors favourable to your proposition
13 Agree to reject the counter-argument
14 Claim victory despite defeat
15 Use seemingly absurd propositions
16 Use your opponent’s views
17 Defense through subtle distinction
18 Interrupt, break-up, divert the dispute
19 Generalise the matter, then argue against it
20 Draw conclusions yourself
21 Counter with an argument as bad as his
22 Beg the question
23 Make him exaggerate
24 State a false syllogism
25 Find the instance to the contrary
26 Turn the tables
27 Anger indicates a weak point
28 Persuade the audience, not the opponent
29 Diversion
30 Appeal to authority rather than reason
31 This is beyond me
32 Put his thesis into some odious category
33 It applies in theory, but not in practice
34 Don’t let him off the hook
35 Will is more effective than insight
36 The Vicar of Wakefield
37 A faulty proof refutes his whole position
38 The ultimate strategy
Appendix I
Appendix II
Appendix III
Afterword (A C Grayling)
Author Description
A.C. Grayling is one of Britain’s best-known and best-selling media philosophers.