UNIT VIII ESSAY TABLE OF DIRTY TRICKS For this assignment, you will create a table of the most prominent fallacies in thinking. Select 15 of the 44 “Dirty Tricks” outlined in your textbook beginning on page 313. Include each of the following items in your table: the name and number of the dirty trick, the decision-making that would lead someone to employ this trick, how you would detect it was being used, and one or two ways in which you might counter the strategy. 314 CHAPTER 13 Dirty Trick #1 EŽBE D Accuse your opponent of doing what he/she is accusing you of (or worse).' This trick is sometimes called “pointing to another wrong.” When under attack and having trouble defending themselves, manipulators turn the tables. They accuse their opponent of doing what they are being accused of. “You say I don't love you I think it is you who doesn't love me!” Manipulators know this is a good way to put their opponents on the defen- sive. They may want to up the ante by accusing the opponent of doing something worse than what he/she is accusing them of: “How dare you accuse me of being messy? When was the last time you even took a shower?” А in ai t1 W с li E Dirty Trick #2 Accuse him/her of sliding down a slippery slope (that leads to disaster). The manipu- lator uses the slippery slope trick when a person implies that if someone does one thing (A), it inevitably will lead to a domino effect of negative things that, in the end. will result in something terrible: A is not so bad, but A leads to B, and B leads to C. and C is horrible! Imagine a mother lecturing her teenage daughter: “Okay, maybe there's noth- ing wrong with a kiss, but remember where kissing leads and where that leads and where that leads. Before you know it, you'll be the mother of an unwanted baby! Your young life will be ruined forever!" Manipulators who use the slippery-slope argument conveniently forget that many people walk carefully on slippery ground and don't fall down. t Ti 1.49 of people (and caused millions of deaths along the TRICKERY AND MANIPULATION 315 way). were worse). This er attack and They accuse on't love you! Trick #4 Dirty milli They deceived Naturally, they could do this only by deceiving themselves into thinking that they e simply being scientifically careful. And, of course, they made a lot of money in the process ( which strongly influenced their ability to deceive themselves). Appeal to experience. Skilled manipulators, con artists, and politicians often imply that they have “experience to back them up, even when their experiences are limited or nonexistent. They know it is much harder for someone to deny what they say if they speak with the voice of experience. Of course, they sometimes will come up against an opponent who has more experience than they do. In that case, they attack their opponent's experience—as not representative, as biased, as limited, as distorted, or as subjective. on the defen- ng something me of being The manipu- one does one t, in the end 3 leads to C here's noth- at leads and anted baby! opery-slope ery ground Dirty Trick #5 Appeal to fear. Deep down, most people have a lot of fears-fear of death, dis- ease, loss of love, loss of attractiveness, loss of youth, loss of income, loss of security, rejection by others. Unprincipled manipulators know that people tend to react primitively when any of these fears are activated. Thus, they represent themselves as having the ability to protect people against these threats (even when they can't). You should distrust authorities who say that certain groups (or people) effectively to make sure people line up behind governmental authority and do of life, our homes, our property.” Politicians often use this strategy quite what the government--that is, what politicians -want. our way elebrity, or ves 316 CHAPTER 13 N poor man!" Use of this ploy enables the manipulator to divert attention from the innocent people who are harmed by a presidential decision or policy. writte to do speal lated (See Dirty Trick #7 Dir subterfuge, and ruse, are careful to present themselves as people who share the Appeal to popular passions.' Manipulators, and other masters of counterfeit, values and views of their audience, especially the “sacred” beliefs of the audience. someone. Masters of spin stir up prejudices, hatred, and irrational fears. They Everyone has some prejudices, and most people feel hatred toward something or imply that they agree with the audience. They act as if they share their views. They work to convince the audience that their opponent doesn't hold sacred the belief they hold sacred. This strategy has many possible variations. One has been called the “Just Plain Folks Fallacy,” in which the manipulator says or implies something like this: “It's good to be back in my home (city/state/country) and with people I can really trust. It's great to be with people who face things squarely, who use their common sense to get things done, people who don't believe in highfalutin' ways of thinking and action." Atta able atta pen anc opi tha dis his CO ca Dirty Trick #8 Appeal to tradition or faith ("the tried and true"). Closely related to Dirty Trick #7, this strategy emphasizes what seems to have passed the test of time. People are often enslaved by the social customs and norms of their culture as well as by traditional beliefs. What is traditional seems right: “This is the way we have always done things." Manipulators imply that they hold firm to what their audience is familiar and comfortable with. They imply that their opponent will destroy these traditions and faith. They don't worry about whether these traditions harm innocent people (like the cruel customs and laws against Blacks before the civil rights movement). They create the appearance of being independent in their views although the views they reach “independently" just happen to coincide with those of the crowd. They know that people are usually suspicious of those who go against present social norms and established traditions. They know enough to avoid openly opposing the social customs to which people are unconsciously (and slavishly) bound. Dirty Trick #9 TAL TRICKERY AND MANIPULATION on from the National and international news (designed for national consumption) is always written with this premise in the background. We may blunder, but we always intend to do the right thing. Manipulators take advantage of this questionable premise by speaking and writing with such assumptions in the background. This posture is re- lated to the fallacy of begging the question and leads to question-begging epithets. See "Beg the Question," Dirty Trick #11.) counterfeit, share the e audience. mething or ears. They iews. They the beliefs Dirty Trick #10 'Just Plain this: trust. It's et things able arguments, manipulators ignore those arguments and instead find a way to attack the reasoner personally. Name-calling (even mudslinging) often works (de- pending on how you do it). Spin artists know what a given audience will reject and insinuate that their opponent supports those terrible things. For example, the opponent might be labeled a communist or an atheist. Or it might be said of her that she supports terrorism or is soft on crime. This strategy is sometimes called "poisoning the well." It leads to the audience dismissing an opponent in a sweeping way–no matter what the opponent says in his defense. Of course, spin artists knows the importance of reading the audience correctly to make sure they don't go too far. They realize that the more subtle they can be, the more effective their manipulation will be. Trick #7, are often raditional e things." niliar and raditions 13.7 Think for INTERNALIZING THE FIRST 10 DIRTY
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