Hidenobu Kosai, "Rhetoric and Sophistry" Summary and Comments - The kinder and more serious you are, the more you should know about protecting your mind from sophistry and pressure.
This time we would like to introduce "Rhetoric and Sophistry" by Hidenobu Kasai, published by Chikuma Shobo in 2010.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
Questions that force silence," "switching points of contention," "the power of choice between two sides": clever traps set in debate.
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Have you ever been caught in the middle of a trick and had to remain silent even though you were not at fault?
Learn the art of argumentation as a protective "heart" technique!
It collects and analyzes interesting argumentation techniques, sophistry, and strong arguments from literary and other works of the past and present. This is a book that can also be enjoyed as a reading material.
I am sure that there are many people who have had a difficult time being talked down to by someone with a strong mouth.
And sadly, the kinder and more serious a person is, the more he/she is unable to refute the words of the other person and accumulates the pain within him/herself. And worse, they blame themselves, saying, "It's my own fault. In this way, kind and serious people become sicker and sicker. I believe that this is actually happening quite often.
I too have suffered for a long time from the words of a strong-mouthed person. And even when I realized that it was clearly coming from a desire to get at me, I couldn't do anything about it and just blamed myself. The trouble is that people who do such things are often in a clearly stronger position than I am...they try to take advantage of a situation where the other person cannot easily refute them to get at me. This is not a good thing to do when you are losing with your mouth.
In such a world, this book is a wonderful prescription for such suffering.
The author states in his foreword This is a very nice foreword that encourages us all. Let's read it carefully.
There are many people who dislike the idea of debate. What they don't like is that they don't like to be reasoned with and debunked. It makes them uncomfortable. But on the other hand, it feels really good to be able to reason with others. It gives the most essential pleasure to human beings, who are logical creatures. (omitted).
If winning an argument thus brings such essential human pleasure, then there are naturally some unpleasant people who will unnecessarily spray arguments to others in order to devour such pleasure themselves. Perhaps there are some in your workplace. While we are trying to be considerate, trying to maintain friendly relationships, and trying not to make things uncomfortable, they will argue insensitively and without hesitation, cracking people's brows. They do so because it feels good. Perhaps you are picking up this book, and you are not a very good debater, and you feel uncomfortable and pathetic being argued down by these unpleasant people on a daily basis.
But man is not only capable of holding back. There is nothing manly about being glib. Aristotle (384-312 BCE), who wrote the oldest extant rhetorical textbook, said. It would be strange if it were shameful to be unable to defend oneself with one's body, but not shameful to be unable to do so with one's speech. After all, the use of speech is more peculiar to human beings than the use of the body.
We must protect our spirit and our hearts with our words. Let us arm ourselves like hedgehogs against the verbal abuse of insensitive people. When we accidentally touch them, we should give them a needle prick and remind them not to say the most absurd things. Remember. We try to be strong in our arguments in order to maintain a minimum of human pride. This book was written to help those "soft-hearted" people learn to argue enough to defend themselves with words.
Chikuma Shobo, Hidenobu Kasai, "Rhetoric and Sophistry," p. 8-9
Aristotle's words are impressive.
It is true that if you hit someone with your fist, you will be caught immediately. Yet verbal abuse is left unchecked, and people who continue to beat people with their fists walk around the world with a nonchalant look on their faces. If you think about it, this is strange. However, as long as verbal violence is not easily dealt with, we have to protect ourselves by ourselves.
That is not something to be ashamed of. It is important to know the art of argumentation in order to maintain a minimum of human pride. Conversely, if we don't know it, we will be rounded up by our opponents and our humanity will be trampled on unprotected.
In this book, we will look at the sophistry of our opponents in a debate, one example at a time. We will learn how we can counter the sophistry of our opponents.
As you can see from the table of contents, we will look at specific casuistry based on famous literary works. Some people may be concerned about the difficulty of the subject matter, but there is no need to worry about that. The work itself is just an excerpt of a conversation, so the scenes are very concrete and easy to understand. In addition, the author's explanations are very detailed and easy to understand. It is not difficult, but rather interesting and you will read it in no time at all.
The mind becomes overwhelmingly at ease by learning what sophistry is in this book. You will think, "Oh, so this is what that person was saying to me at the time, then it wasn't my fault. It is as if all the exchanges that I have suffered so much in the past were a lie.
It is also important to note that you do not have to use what you have learned in this book to openly refute anything on the spot. It is still difficult to openly argue on the spot because of the atmosphere of the situation.
However, you will soon realize, "Oh, this person is trying to get me into it by using sophistry right now. Then you will realize that you don't have to pay much attention to what that person says. And you can put up a line of defense that this person is "that kind of person. With this, you can stand tall and not be intimidated at all. No matter how many verbal blows they give you, you can reduce the damage considerably.
The other side will be surprised to see that we remain unmoved even after repeated blows. Then the attack will naturally cease. It is important to let the attacker know that the attack will not work on him. It is possible to repel the attacker without hitting back.
This is a huge confidence booster in our minds. It gives our hearts a great deal of room to grow at once.
I believe this is what the author refers to as "minimal human pride." How big of a deal is "minimal pride." We can protect it for ourselves. If we can do that, it is a totally different life than when we are left beaten. This is a tremendous thing.
This also affects not only one-to-one interpersonal relationships, but also the way we relate to society.
In my last article, I introduced George Orwell'sAnimal Farm."was precisely the theme of the dystopianization of society through such sophistry.
As I mentioned in my previous article, "Rhetoric and Sophistry" by Hidenobu Kosai uses this very "Animal Farm" as a subject to explain the art of sophistry and the process by which society is moving toward a dystopia. Let us look at it again in this issue.
At the manor farm owned by Mr. Jones, the overworked animals revolted under the leadership of Snowball the pig and Napoleon, who banished Mr. Jones. They changed the manor farm to an animal farm, established its Seven Commandments, and tried to create their own utopia under the slogan "All animals are equal.
But as early as the next day, things started to go wrong. The milk that had just been milked from the sows had somehow disappeared. It turned out that the pigs had been feeding themselves secretly, but the other animals began to complain that the pigs were trying to monopolize not only the milk but also the apples that had fallen in the wind. So Napoleon dispatched Squealer, a pig with a good tongue, as his spokesman.
Fellow comrades!" he exclaimed. You don't think that we pigs, with our gruffness and our air of privilege, are going to have all the milk and apples for ourselves, do you? To tell the truth, most of us hate milk and apples. I hate them too. The only reason why we eat such things that we hate is to maintain our health. Milk and apples (science has proven it, comrades) contain ingredients that are absolutely essential for the welfare of pigs. We pigs are engaged in brain work. The management and organization of this farm rests entirely on our shoulders. Day and night, we are devoted to the welfare of our comrades. Therefore, it is for the sake of our comrades that we drink the milk and eat the apples. Do you know what would happen if we, the pigs, were unable to fulfill that duty? Jones will come back! Yes, the Joneses are coming back! That's it, comrades," Squealer exclaimed in an almost pleading tone, hopping from right to left and busily wagging his tail. Not one of you wants Jones to come back, do you?
This decisive line worked. The animals were absolutely certain that if there was one thing they did not want Jones to return, it was that they did not want him to return. When he said it like that, they couldn't say anything else.
Squealer got a taste of the success of this argument. Later, when the animals were upset by Napoleon's ousting of Snowball, the leader of the revolution, in a power struggle, he was sent back to frighten them with the same argument: "Fellows, discipline! Discipline, fellow comrades, discipline, iron discipline! This is our watchword today. If we make a mistake, our enemies will attack us at once. Listen, none of you want Jones to come back, do you? Do you?" -Again, no one could refrain from making a sound in this discussion.
Chikuma Shobo, Hidenobu Kasai, "Rhetoric and Sophistry," p. 86-88
This is a text that explains the features of "Animal Farm" in full. The relationship between pigs and animals is like this from beginning to end. How about it? Isn't it getting more and more frightening? This is not a fiction, but an actual fact that happened in the Soviet Union, and moreover, this could happen anywhere in the world even now. In fact, the environment that surrounds us today could be just like this.
"Discipline, brothers and sisters, discipline, iron discipline! This is our watchword today. If we make a mistake, our enemies will attack us at once. Listen, some of you,Jones.And what about all the people who want you to come back? How about it?"
In these words.Jones.Try to apply various words to the "I'm sorry" part. Do you see a horrifying reality?
This is scary because it can happen anytime, anywhere.
Let's continue to look at the explanations.
Or when the pigs were exposed sleeping in beds, in violation of the fourth of the seven commandments, he repeated it again. For the pigs, sleeping in beds is necessary for their health. No one wants us to be so exhausted that we cannot do our duty. We are not going to have any of you wishing for Jones to come back, are we? -When this was said, the animals had nothing to say.
The ludicrousness of the argument used by Squealer here should be obvious. He asked, "Do you gentlemen wish Jones to return?" he asked the animals. Of course, their answer was a resounding "No." But this declaration of intent becomes approval for the pigs to keep milk and apples to themselves, for them to sleep on beds in violation of the commandments, or for Napoleon to become dictator.
This is because Squealer's question was based on the causal assumption that Jones would return if the pigs were not allowed to monopolize milk and apples, sleep in beds, and Napoleon's dictatorship. So, the animals, who were not smart enough to think about it, went up in smoke and accepted this premise, but if there were those who did not want Jones to return but also did not accept the privileged behavior of the pigs (i.e., they were not convinced of the causal connection between the series of privileged behavior of the pigs and Jones's return), then he would have been the first to admit that Jones would return. ), he cannot answer "yes" or "no" to Squealer's question. Since he does not want Jones to return, of course he cannot answer "yes". But if he answered "no," it would thereby be taken as an approval of the pigs' actions.
Chikuma Shobo, Hidenobu Kasai, "Rhetoric and Sophistry," p. 88-89
Rhetoric and Sophistry" by Hidenobu Kasai is, as the title suggests, a book that explains what "sophistry" is.
One of the best examples of this sophistry was this "Animal Farm". In this book, you will continue to learn about the art of sophistry and how to deal with it, using specific examples.
Rhetoric and Sophistry is a very powerful ally in a world that is difficult to live in.
I still think it is strange to live in a world where the more serious and kind people are, the harder they suffer.
Indeed, this has been repeated endlessly throughout human history. If it is said that this is reality, that is the end of the story.
But, as the author states, there are things we can do. There are things we can practice to protect our own minds. Just knowing that is a great help. I too was saved by this book.
I would highly recommend this book. Not only will it help you protect yourself, but it will also help protect society.
Why not pick one up?
The above is "Hidenobu Kosai, "Rhetoric and Sophistry": How sophistry works and how to prevent it - The kinder and more serious you are, the more you should know how to protect your mind from sophistry and pressure.
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