An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments (Ali Almossawi)

 

An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments is a whimsical overview, "aimed at newcomers to the field of logical reasoning," about what not to do in arguments. The author chose "nineteen of the most common errors in reasoning and visualized them using memorable illustrations . . ." to show "some of the most common pitfalls in arguments and be able to identify and avoid them in practice." The ultimate goal: foster "more constructive debates."

"Logic does not generate new truths, but rather allows one to evaluate existing chains of thought for consistency and coherence." I argue that we don't do this well today. And "formalizing one's reasoning could lead to useful benefits such as clarity of thought and expression, improved objectivity, and greater confidence. The ability to analyze other's arguments can also serve as a yardstick for when to withdraw from discussions that will most likely be futile."  I picked up this book with great anticipation, heightened by the opening graphic:

Alas, I was somewhat disappointed. The illustrations were cute but added nothing to the content; the overviews were at times helpful, but sometimes a little off or misleading (potentially even incorrect- or presented poorly and easily misconstrued). At ~50 pages, it's a fast read, but there must be better summaries of this topic out there.

If this past election cycle (or, really, any election cycle)  taught me anything, it's that we as a culture are woefully bad at arguing. Constructively, anyway. So I have a few logic/argument books on my reading list this year, and this was my first. My hope is to learn how to better argue. Not to 'win,' but to fairly present points and expect others to do the same. This book helped me a little bit, but not as much as I'd hoped.

Rating: C+