In Pursuit of Truth

You may well have heard of a 'strawman' argument - where your opponent misrepresents, exaggerates or down-right fabricates your position to make it easier to attack.

The strawman is one example of a logical fallacy. The danger of fallacies is that they distort our realities and cause us to adopt unfounded beliefs.

These villains must be stopped... but how?

There's only one man for the job.

STEELMAN!

Superhero puns aside, steelmanning is an incredibly powerful strategy if you want to strengthen your arguments and draw others to your perspective.

The approach is the opposite of strawmanning.

To steelman is to first bring to light the strongest version of your opponent's position and only then provide your rebuttal.

Here is the great philosopher and cognitive scientist, Daniel Dennett's method:

1 - Attempt to re-express the other person’s position so clearly, vividly, and fairly that they say, “Thanks, I wish I’d thought of putting it that way.”

2 - List any points of agreement.

3 - Mention anything you have learned from your target.

4 - Only then are you permitted to say so much as a word of rebuttal or criticism.

What's the benefit of steelmanning?

In contrast to the strawman, the steelman is the platonic ideal of the other person’s argument - the strongest position they can possibly hold.

If you are able to demonstrate objectively why the steelman position doesn't hold up to scrutiny, then you are much more likely to achieve the desired outcome of any debate - changing someone's mind.

It's not guaranteed, of course. But it's a hell of a lot more likely than if you attack their position with strawmans and ad hominems.

And if you can't defeat their steelman position, then it's time to seriously examine your own.