Bulverism

Reading: Bulverism, Lewis

Bulverism. Though not an actual term, its concept is similar to a term used in philosophy: ad hominum. This is the term philosophers use to describe an attack on another person's character, rather than their argument. Bulverism, the term Lewis used, is the assumption that the other person is wrong, but rather than attacking the argument, they attempt to discredit it by attributing motives to the presenter.

In politics, Bulverism is the primary fallacy committed. The mentality is that it's not necessarily a bad idea, but he's presenting it, and he owns two SUVs and isn't environmentally friendly means that he must be presenting a bad idea. Unfortunately, the same goes for the opposing team, and so the argument is only won when one is able to point out more dirt on the other.

The situation is similar in the justice department. A man who has committed numerous other crimes in the past is much more likely to be charged with a crime than someone with no history. They say all are assumed innocent until proven guilty, but the fact is that its quite the opposite. Often, they are considered guilty throughout the investigation until there is enough evidence to prove otherwise.

It's a dangerous thing, Bulverism. It allows wiggle room, too much wiggle room than it ought. Even more dangerous is the fact that most of influential society falls into the practice, which, in turn, leads the rest of society in the same path. It is for this reason that Aristotle in his essay "the Cave" encourages philosophers, the enlightened minds, to take up positions of leadership in order to break the cycle. Lewis, in turn, seems to promote that we look beyond the Bulverist attacks and respect the proper philosophical means of debate.