How to Argue Better

Political polarization is tearing our societies apart. People who disagree about politics insult each other and refuse to compromise. The basic problem is mutual antagonism that stems from an inability to understand competing views.

Mutual antagonism can often be reduced by asking the right questions and listening carefully to the answers. This solution to polarization is exemplified by Ann Atwater and C.P Ellis, who transformed their hostility into friendship.

We are all susceptible to wishful thinking, generalizing from what comes to mind, and miscalculating probabilities. To avoid these common mistakes, we all need to learn how to analyze and assess arguments.

Arguments are often despised because they are misunderstood as competitions or theatrical displays of intellectual prowess. Instead, arguments are sets of sentences with a premise and a conclusion. They are tools for understanding issues and people.

Some passages do not include any argument. We can tell when an argument is being given by looking at particular words that mark reasons and conclusions.

Arguments present reasons, but what are reasons? Reasons include justifications of beliefs and actions as well as explanations of events and refutations of other arguments. Some arguments aim only to persuade without really giving any reason. One way to evaluate arguments is by whether and how well they serve their purposes.