I've got nothing much to say about Christopher Hitchens, who died a few days ago, and that's just the point. Unless you are prepared to make a conscious effort to THINK about somebody "in the public domain", you are likely to be swayed by the force of his prose (in Hitchens' case) or by what other people say about him rather than by the actual force of his argument.
The best way I have found to test the validity of what someone says is to imagine myself espousing and expounding a cause on his behalf. My advocacy and powers of persuasion are usually enough to reduce any argument to dust in the space of minutes!
The thing is, you've got to think critically, yes, but that's not enough; you also have to CARE. And there's a limit to the amount of things you can care about. Do you care about the European Union? Are you prepared to do battle in its cause? To resist torture rather than sully its name?
The best way I have found to test the validity of what someone says is to imagine myself espousing and expounding a cause on his behalf. My advocacy and powers of persuasion are usually enough to reduce any argument to dust in the space of minutes!
The thing is, you've got to think critically, yes, but that's not enough; you also have to CARE. And there's a limit to the amount of things you can care about. Do you care about the European Union? Are you prepared to do battle in its cause? To resist torture rather than sully its name?
It's good to read proper English again. A search for Basil Nardly-Stoads led me here. I will do my cyclothymic best to make my stay here a happy one.
ReplyDeleteSpiggy Topes y'know it's all y'know just status quo y'know lasts for a while y'know just tell me one militant revolution that's lasted y'know.
Is that the Major ranting on again?
ReplyDeleteMy brief answer to your query, Mr. Dunn, is No.
I don't know who it is, but all comments are most welcome!
ReplyDeleteNot the Major. It's my first contribution, we thank Spiggy Topes for introducing "y'know" to the language. It's like like is now. Nothing is as it seems it is like, like it, like. Sorry it took me a calendar month to check back.
ReplyDelete