The Big Pretense
I’ve been in a groove with issues of informal logic, so I’ll discuss another debating ruse. I call it The Big Pretense.
Suppose Donny Dogma is completely devoted to some system of beliefs, say, a political ideology. Proposition P is central to that ideology, so Donny must affirm P, given his ideological devotion. But the truth of P is questionable, which his friend Phil notes.
Donny’s response? “C’mon! Everyone knows P is true!”
“Well, what you say is false. Many people deny P,” replies Phil.
“You’re just a doubter, not a true believer!” says Donny, dismissing Phil’s point.
Here, Donny’s dogmatism prevents him from admitting that P is, in fact, open to question. Donny refuses to recognize this fact, which would require him to question his ideological commitments. He finds it easier to pretend that P is an item of common knowledge than to take the hard work of critical thinking seriously.
Easy belief, though comfortable, is little help to the wise; critical judgment, though difficult, is the sage’s cynosure.