Critical Thinking 2 | Intellectual Self-Defense: A Field Guide to Logical Fallacies

Have you ever listened to an argument and felt that something was wrong, but you couldn't quite put your finger on it? You're not alone. Persuasive rhetoric often uses well-known tricks—intellectual sleights-of-hand called logical fallacies—to bypass your reasoning and win you over with flawed logic.
In this episode, we go on the offensive. Consider this your first lesson in intellectual Jiu-Jitsu. We will expose the dark arts of persuasion by creating a field guide to the most common logical fallacies you encounter every day. By learning to name these traps, you’ll learn to neutralize them, empowering you to engage in more honest, productive conversations and protect yourself from manipulation.
In this episode, you’ll learn to identify:

• The Art of Distraction:How to spot a Straw Man, an Ad Hominem attack, and a Red Herring from a mile away.
• The Logic That Isn't:Why the Slippery Slope, the Hasty Generalization, and the False Cause fallacy are so deceptive and how to dismantle them.
• How to Respond Productively:Go beyond just pointing out fallacies and learn how to gently guide conversations back to a logical and constructive path.

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