I agree that they are most useful when actually trying to change someone’s mind.
I originally thought that they would be more effective in writing than in person, but after making the list some I’ve been surprised at how quickly and naturally they can be used in conversation. It took a few seconds the first few times, but I didn’t really need to practice. YMMV.
I actually have a pretty narrow range of uses in mind, and I think some of our disagreement comes from thinking I intend these for general use. You correctly point out that Counterspells don’t make any positive progress in the debate, they just swat things down (like a… counterspell?). And yeah, that’s all they are. They don’t do much heavy lifting and you need other tools to actually change someone’s mind (most of the time).
All I’m saying is whenever you would say, “That’s invalid because [Fallacy Name]”, instead say, “[Counterspell]”. It has to exist within the framework of better rhetorical skills, and yeah, if someone is the kind of asshole who pulls them out as underhanded tricks, these won’t save them.
I agree that they are most useful when actually trying to change someone’s mind.
I originally thought that they would be more effective in writing than in person, but after making the list some I’ve been surprised at how quickly and naturally they can be used in conversation. It took a few seconds the first few times, but I didn’t really need to practice. YMMV.
I actually have a pretty narrow range of uses in mind, and I think some of our disagreement comes from thinking I intend these for general use. You correctly point out that Counterspells don’t make any positive progress in the debate, they just swat things down (like a… counterspell?). And yeah, that’s all they are. They don’t do much heavy lifting and you need other tools to actually change someone’s mind (most of the time).
All I’m saying is whenever you would say, “That’s invalid because [Fallacy Name]”, instead say, “[Counterspell]”. It has to exist within the framework of better rhetorical skills, and yeah, if someone is the kind of asshole who pulls them out as underhanded tricks, these won’t save them.