permaculture

["L. Santoyo" <santoyo@earthflow.com>]

...useful guidelines:

I have come to the point where I think that the way to understand/solve more
and more issues is by using plain ol' reason and logic.

Maybe we could also agree to try to use logic and watch for fallacies in
presenting and especially in trying to rebut an issue... I have incorporated
this information and discussion into our Permaculture Design Courses as
patterns of communication.  Please review some of the handouts developed by
the University of North Carolina below.

Larry Santoyo
www.earthflow.com


See-
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/mathew/logic.html
* Constructing a Logical Argument*
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines logic as "the science of
reasoning, proof, thinking, or inference." Logic will let you analyze an
argument or a piece of reasoning, and work out whether it is likely to be
correct or not. You don't need to know logic to argue, of course; but if you
know even a little, you'll find it easier to spot invalid arguments.

See Also-

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/fallacies.html
*What are fallacies?** *
Fallacies are defects that weaken arguments. By learning to look for them in
your own and others' writing, you can strengthen your ability to evaluate
the arguments you make, read, and hear. It is important to realize two
things about fallacies: First, fallacious arguments are very, very common
and can be quite persuasive, at least to the causal reader or listener. You
can find dozens of examples of fallacious reasoning in newspapers,
advertisements, and other sources. Second, it is sometimes hard to evaluate
whether an argument is fallacious. An argument might be very weak, somewhat
weak, somewhat strong, or very strong. An argument that has several stages
or parts might have some strong sections and some weak ones. The goal of
this handout, then, is not to teach you how to label arguments as fallacious
or fallacy-free, but to help you look critically at your own arguments and
move them away from the "weak" and toward the "strong" end of the continuum.