"Bulverism"

"In the old days it was supposed that if a thing seemed obviously true to a hundred men, then it was probably true". Today, with more complex ways of thinking (Freudian, Marxist), it becomes a little more complicated. Lewis proposes that because there are these different perspectives, "their thoughts are psychologically tainted at the source", meaning that for example the marxists would analyze a situation by economic class, and the freudians would analyze it by various complexes. The only way to avoid these tainted thoughts is to assess the situation "on purely logical grounds" says Lewis, but what people do instead is "assume without discussion that he is wrong and then distract his attention from this (the only real issue) by busily explaining how he became to be so silly". This is what Lewis defines as Bulverism, and "[u]ntil Bulverism is crushed, reason can play no effective part in human affairs".

I find it hard to disagree with Lewis, and the main point that he makes is something that we all can apply to our lives. Above all, I think it is important to note that "you must show that a man is wrong before you start explaining why he is wrong". This basically means that we should not judge a person or a situation immediately before looking at the facts. This should be considered with anything - from our personal relationships to politics to debates. Also, we must keep in mind that "'refutation is no necessary part of argument'". It is essential to acknowledge your opponents argument, and not assume that it is wrong from the beginning. Although we all do this, it is immature and shows that we are just too lazy to actually try to prove why he or she is wrong about something. Beyond everything else that I obtained from this essay, this is the most important to remember.