Fallacies

by David King

Argument From Intimidation
(The Virtue of Selfishness, chapter 19)

"Only the most degenerate, morally depraved, cretinous imbecile could fail to see the truth of my argument."

Usually, however, this is somewhat more subtle:

"It would be unwise to exclude the possibility that my surmise is correct."

"If one has to think about it, one is already without honor."... Spengler

To "dare" someone to do something is to challenge him to perform an action as proof of his courage. This is the behavior of a person with the aspirations of a tyrant but without the power to compel. Since he does not have that power, he attempts to swindle his prospective victim into the acceptance of his goals and the use of his judgements as the standard for the victim's actions. He tricks the victim into performing the action by implicitly impugning his character.



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