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An open-book test
on demagoguery
and current events
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by Herb Ruhs, MD, Unknown News
August 16, 2007
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From The Wikipedia, some
excerpts and accompanying questions about demagogy and demagoguery. This quiz will not count toward your final grade.
(1) "The early 20th century American social critic and humorist H. L.
Mencken, known for his "definitions" of terms, defined a demagogue as
"one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to
be idiots."
What's the first name that comes to mind?
_________________________
(2) "Though this definition emphasizes the use of lying and
falsehoods, some point out that demagogy does not require such, but
that skilled demagogues often need to use only special emphasis by
which an uncritical listener will be led to draw the desired
conclusion himself, seeding a belief that is self-reinforced rather
than one based on fact or truth."
Who does this passage bring to mind?
_________________________
(3) "Demagogues may make use of logical fallacies, though persuasion
may require no use of logic. While it may not rely heavily upon
outright lies, the use of half-truths, omissions, and distortions are
what define demagogy -- it is, in essence, giving bad-faith arguments
for the purpose of political gain.
Again, who? _________________________
(4) "Methods not involving violations of logic
Apples and oranges -- mixing of incomparable quantities. For example,
"our government has increased social spending by 5 billion dollars,
while the previous government increased it only by 0.4 percent."
Obviously, the latter sounds like less, but one cannot be sure
without an absolute value.
Half-truth -- making statements that are true only in a strict and
relatively meaningless sense. For example, "the opposition have
accused us of cutting foreign aid, but actually our government has
increased foreign aid by 500 million dollars," not mentioning that
(adjusted for inflation) the allocated funds have in fact gone down.
False authority -- relying on the general authority of a person who is
not proficient in the discussed topic. For example, "the professor
read my book, and liked it very much," omitting the fact that it was
a professor of chemistry who read a book on anthropology."
Who? _________________________
(5) Methods involving violation of logic
False dilemma -- assuming that there are only two possible opinions on
a given topic. For example, "You're either with us or against us...,"
ignoring the possibility of a neutral position or divergence.
Demonization -- identifying others as a mortal threat. Often this
involves scapegoating -- blaming others for one's own problems. This
is often advanced by using vague terms to identify the opposition
group and then stereotyping that group. This allows the demagogue to
exaggerate this group's influence and ascribe any trait to them by
identifying that trait in any individual in the group. This method
can be aided by constructing a false dilemma that portrays opposition
groups as having a value system that is the polar opposite of one's
own, as opposed to simply having different priorities.
Straw man -- mischaracterizing the opposing position and then arguing
against the mischaracterization.
Loaded question -- posing a question with an implied position that the
opponent does not have. "When did you stop taking bribes?"
Who do you hear making these kinds of arguments these days?
_________________________
(6) "Arguments unrelated to a discussion
Unrelated facts -- bringing unrelated facts that sound in favor of the
speaker's agenda. For example, marking a vegetable or cereal product
as "cholesterol free". Since cholesterol is only found in animal
products, such labeling does not actually distinguish this product
from similar competitors.
Emotional appeal or personal attack -- attempting to bring a
discussion to an emotional level. For example, "Everyone is against
me!", "Can't I be right just once?", "You're stupid!", "You are
Racist!" or just the classic retort "Shut up!"
Who do you remember doing this recently?
_________________________
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