Bulverism—the attack of a person of opposing opinion on a topic to prove yourself rather than considering the actual topic at hand. In his essay entitled “Bulverism,” Lewis points out how this “vice” has permeated the debates of his day. He discussed how thoughts are biased or tainted in some manner, and raises two questions: ‘are all thoughts tainted, or just some’ and ‘does the taint invalidate the thought itself?’ He goes on to point out that we must see some thoughts as tainted and others as not, but then begs the question ‘how do we determine which are tainted and which aren’t?’ After this he answers the second question by pointing out that if the thought is a true one, it does not matter whether it was tainted or not. Lewis says that if you try to determine which thoughts are tainted by the biases of the thinkers themselves, you delve into the realm of “Bulverism.”
The great problem with this “Bulverism” from a logical point of view is that you have immediately assumed “that a man is wrong” and jump to point out why he is wrong. Instead, Lewis says it is important “show that a man is wrong before you start explaining why.” I really appreciate this point that Lewis makes because it is something I tend to struggle with in discussions. If someone has a differing opinion than I do on a topic, I will immediately jump to why they are wrong without considering their opinion and showing that they are wrong.
I thought one of the most interesting quotes in the essay was “Until Bulverism is crushed, reason can play no effective part in human affairs.” This quote made me wonder if such a time will ever come. I believe that Bulverism is a distortion brought out because of the fall. We are ready and willing to point out how others have come to their “silly notions,” and discredit another idea because of the bias of the thinker. If this is a manifestation of fallen man, can we ever fully “crush” it? I think while we live here on earth, Bulverism will be something that everyone struggles with in a debate/discussion.
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Hey Becca! I really like the connection you made with Bulverism and the fall. I agree with you that Bulverism will be a constant struggle for us on earth because we are a fallen creation. It's very easy for us to disagree with someone just because of who they are, and not on what their argument is. We need to swallow our pride and listen to what other people say instead of judging them before hearing them out. Great job on your post!
ReplyDeleteOf course it is wrong to automatically assume that the opponent is wrong. However, I think it is a very fine line between showing that a man is wrong and explaining why a man is wrong. Of course the distinction exists, but you can also explain why a man is wrong through the act of showing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting idea concerning the fall of man. I think that it might be possible to take bulverism out of politics, but only if Al Gore makes a documentary about it. However, bulverism will probably always exist in some way or another because of, as you said, the fall of man. It's a rather selfish form of argument, and being selfish people, it may be difficult to completely stomp it out.
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