Before the summer break, the ESL students had been studying the structure of arguments, fallacies and the power of analogies. This work helps the students learn English and engage in critical thinking in English.
Lots of people commit argumentative errors. Here is a quote form a recent Facebook entry. It’s a criticism of Noam Chomsky video and his expertise in political affairs.
“I don’t get this. Noam Chomsky is a linguist, not a political scientists. Who gives a crap what he had to say, really? It’s like when people post some political quote by Einstein with his picture on it, who, as a physicist, is no more qualified to give a political opinion than I am.”
Here’s the task.
How many fallacies and errors can you find in this argument written by a recent PhD graduate from Cambridge University?
This Lesson
Today we will take a different look at logic and arguments. That is, begin to understand the other side of the argument – when people don’t make any sense at all.
- How can we analyze those situations?
- What language is required?
- What concepts do we need to understand?
Cognitive Dissonance
This video is part of a lesson related to language and logic. The objective is this lesson is to develop one understanding of why people don’t always think or behave rationally.