Arguments are battles that employ rationality as their ammunition. Arguments like to win and to defeat the other. Strong arguments focus on one aspect and ignore others. Bullying argumentation goes further, to ensure that only one aspect is considered and that other aspects are never even thought about. Bullies ensure that the defeated one is prevented from bringing other aspects, by preventing them even considering them as possible. An overwhelming argument, in which society as a whole bullies those who disagree into public silence, is probably the worst - and indicates that some whole aspects of reality are being silenced.
Yet reality remains complex and multi-aspectual. When other aspects are brought in, no argument seems quite so strong, because other aspects mitigate it by bringing in other ways of seeing things.
The problem for the person of truth is that they want to acknowledge all aspects, but doing so can seldom, if ever, win arguments. Reality acknowledges that even in the opposition there is some insight, and doing so is like giving the opposition the ammunition and removing one's own shield. Reality's argument ever seems weak. It seems vacillating, as it moves around one relevant aspects.
The challenge we humans face is to find a way to make reality and truth win, instead of bullying and narrowness.
Many of these pages, in which things are discussed, try to recognise multiple aspects. So they are discussions rather than knock-down arguments.
To send comments, queries, suggestions, please fill in the following and click 'Submit':
Thank you. This will send an email to me, to which I will endeavour to respond.
About This Page
Offered to God as on-going work, this page is designed to stimulate discussion on various topics, as part of Andrew Basden's pages that open up various things from one of the Christian perspectives.
Contact details.
Copyright (c) Andrew Basden at all the dates below. But you may use this material subject to certain conditions.
Written on the Amiga with Protext.
Created: 13 July 2014. Last updated: 7 July 2015 new .end.