Description
Book SynopsisWe all know people who are incredibly persuasive. In this concise book the philosophy of persuasion is parsed in 38 subtle rules that will give you the magic formula to achieve success in work and life. Find out when to: • Counter bad arguments with bad arguments / • Claim victory despite defeat / • Anger your opponent / • Lying is permitted. In this practical yet entertaining book, AC Grayling has skilfully edited Arthur Schopenhauer's posthumous work for the modern reader and provided additional text of his own. Schopenhauer, eclipsed at university by Hegel (whom he thought a fraud), made the topic of this book the study of a lifetime. Here are his conclusions in 38 handy hacks anyone can use.
Trade Review‘Keep this delightful essay at your side.’ Observer; ‘An instruction manual no one can afford to be without.’ New Statesman; ‘Drily witty.’ Alain de Botton, Sunday Telegraph; ‘Caustically witty.’ Spectator; ‘Warmly recommended.’ BBC Radio 4 Saturday Review
Table of ContentsThe Truth (A C Grayling) Introduction (A C Grayling) The Art of Always Being Right 1 Extension 2 Homonyms 3 Generalise your opponent’s specific statements 4 Conceal your game 5 False premises 6 Postulate what has to be proven 7 Yield admissions through questions 8 Make your opponent angry 9 Question in detouring order 10 Take advantage of the no-sayer 11 Generalise admissions of specific cases 12 Choose metaphors favourable to your proposition 13 Agree to reject the counter-argument 14 Claim victory despite defeat 15 Use seemingly absurd propositions 16 Use your opponent’s views 17 Defense through subtle distinction 18 Interrupt, break-up, divert the dispute 19 Generalise the matter, then argue against it 20 Draw conclusions yourself 21 Counter with an argument as bad as his 22 Beg the question 23 Make him exaggerate 24 State a false syllogism 25 Find the instance to the contrary 26 Turn the tables 27 Anger indicates a weak point 28 Persuade the audience, not the opponent 29 Diversion 30 Appeal to authority rather than reason 31 This is beyond me 32 Put his thesis into some odious category 33 It applies in theory, but not in practice 34 Don’t let him off the hook 35 Will is more effective than insight 36 The Vicar of Wakefield 37 A faulty proof refutes his whole position 38 The ultimate strategy Appendix I Appendix II Appendix III Afterword (A C Grayling)
