"Bulverism"

C.S Lewis, in his essay entitled "Bulverism", gets to the heart of much of the problem in the way that we argue and debate today. Bulverism, as Lewis calls it, is the method of attacking the arguer instead of their argument, focusing on their personal flaws or motives instead of the points that they are trying to make. I think bulverism can play a significant role in the way that we view debates and arguments, and i would go so far as to say that it is the reason that many people hate deep discussions.

Bulverism is so prevalent in the way that we discuss things, that I think people have come to associate arguing and debating with personal attacks. Since we often focus on the person who is making the argument instead of the argument itself, people have a natural tendency to take counter-arguments or rebuttals personally. This is the case whether we mean it that way or not. Even when we are not "bulverizing" people can interpret the way we refute them as a personal attack. This is what Professor Paulo was talking about when he shared the story about his daughter in class.

I am convinced that this is why the concept of political correctness developed. The overuse of bulverism has made in necessary to be extremely cautious in the way we argue. It is now imperative that you do not step on anyone's toes or offend them in your argument. Especially in public settings, you must make sure that no one can take your argument as a personal attack. Unless, of course, they attacked you first, in which case society encourages that you use bulverism to fight back.

When heated debates are done correctly, both parties come away having learned more and expanded their perspectives. It is a great feeling when you can explain something that you are passionate about and back it up rationally and logically. It is even fun when someone comes up with a smart way to refute your point and make you think even harder. This kind of debate only occurs on rare occasions, at least for me. It seems like more often we walk away feeling angry, misunderstood, or frustrated with the other person or people with whom we are debating. This, I think, is why we so often choose to simply avoid controversial subjects.