The Art of Deception

by Nicholas Capaldi

This classic work on critical thinking--now fully updated and revised--uses a novel approach to teach the basics of informal logic. On the assumption that "it takes one to know one," the authors have written the book from the point of view of someone who wishes to deceive, mislead, or manipulate others. Having mastered the art of deception, readers will then be able to detect the misuse or abuse of logic when they encounter it in others--whether in a heated political debate or while trying to evaluate the claims of a persuasive sales person.

Using a host of real-world examples, the authors show you how to win an argument, defend a case, recognize a fallacy, see through deception, persuade a skeptic, and turn defeat into victory. Not only do they discuss the fundamentals of logic (premises, conclusions, syllogisms, common fallacies, etc.), but they also consider important related issues often encountered in face-to-face debates, such as gaining a sympathetic audience, responding to audience reaction, using nonverbal devices, clearly presenting the facts, refutation, and driving home a concluding argument.

Whether you're preparing for law school or you just want to become more adept at making your points and analyzing others' arguments, The Art of Deception will give you the intellectual tools to become a more effective thinker and speaker. Helpful exercises and discussion questions are also included.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Logic, Psychology, Science, Business, Self Help

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Ellen]

I read to page 23 and decided I would put this book aside until I could focus more on it. It looks like a heavy-duty logic and argument handbook for modern times. I think it will be a good study for me when I have the time to focus on it.

[Jen Lorelei]

So, I didn't finish this book...and I tried....I really, really tried...for an entire month.

I'm an English teacher, and my colleague recommended it to me for a project we do that involves political speeches. Honestly, I was really excited about upping my game for my students.

First off, this book takes any love a person might have for the written word and squeezes the life blood clean out of it.

Secondly, it is written in a highly esoteric manner. I wouldn't allow my students to write this way...I tell them all the time that language is for enlightening, not excluding.

Finally, I found the book's tone highly offensive even though I realized that it was meant to be tongue in cheek. Statistics not backing up your argument? Show a part of the graph that purposefully misleads your audience. Think your opponent is making a great point? Ignore it, and point out a word he mispronounced. Can you really trust someone like that?

In the end, aside from being a great projectile, this book was good for one more thing. I flipped to the back and found "Further Readings". I am now about a third of the way through Weston's Rulebook for Arguments. It's short, it's clear, and it's absolutely fascinating. I can't wait to teach the students what I learned on Monday!

[William]

4.5 Stars. This is an outstanding primer for learning or teaching logic and developing analytic skills. The use of the word deception in the title gives a different impression of the authors' purpose which is developing critical thinking skills. This is easy to read and understand.

[Priyank Goyal]

A handbook for the following:

1. Preparing a case
2. Writing a critical review
3. Participating in a debate
4. General Convincing

[Alien Bookreader]

I read this book years ago but I loved the strategies and the tactics. I love that it's not only about critical thinking but about tactics that people use to control attention and deceive.

[Brian Grogan]

Don't judge a book by its title yes it does tell you how to convince only win and I win but it also gets deeply into linguistics

[Zachary Stewart]

'The Art of Deception' is a technical treatise upon the procedural elements of arguing. This book has more to do with preparing for a political debate than constructing a sound argument, though it does help with understanding flaws.

Chapters tend to focus on how to embarrass an opponent or mislead an audience; this is an attribute made clear in the book's description. What is unclear, is how effective the book is at educating the audience on that specified goal. To me, there is an unnecessary focus upon logic terminology and a lack of focus on developing the skills needed to actually recognize such flaws.

One would need to have some outside-knowledge of arguments for this book to be of use, deeming it (in my mind) too dense for a layperson. However, I'm sure that it's still beneficial to some; it just wasn't so for me.

[Arthur Schleizer]

PHENOMENAL BOOK. I recommend reading through and skipping exercises, than going back and rereading while doing exercises. Personally I will go back and read the book while taking notes, phenomenal phenomenal book that I truly seek to master information.

[Conan]

Written in the most uninteresting style and generally not a helpful resource for argumentation. Stopped at page 96.

[Lisa Bricker]

I liked his method but found some of his content eye-openingly dated.

[Fernando Falcón]

Well. I have problems with this kind of books based on stories. I think most of the content is subjective and kind of obvious.

[Thomas]

An incredibly useful and thought-provoking book!

[JL Salty]

I was just not looking for a logic book, sadly.

[JMA]

3.5. Didn't like some of the arguments and this version is... Dated. But damn glad to have read chapter five through seven. Particularly seven.

[Isabelle]

Way too wordy for me and I just couldn’t get through the first chapter and had to put it aside

[Michael]

Another book that has sat on my shelves for years, The Art of Deception provides an introduction to formal and informal logic by presenting reasoning as the art of winning arguments. This provides a nice hook to enter into a challenging subject, and Capaldi offers up a serviceable overview of rational argumentation. The book is not genius, but it is well written, fast paced and easily understandable for a book on logic.

The book starts with an overview of formal logical reasoning, the structure of arguments and criteria for judging an argument sound and valid. It then dives in to informal reasoning demonstrating how to construct an informal argument, what counts as evidence and what does not, and then finishes up with causal reasoning.

Most the of book, however, focuses on logical fallacies arguing for both how to look for fallacies in arguments and how to deploy them strategically to strengthen one’s own position. This proves better than listing fallacies, but at the same time I guess I was hoping for more than a hundred pages on fallacies.

If you are interested in a good introductory book on informal logic and spotting bad reasoning or if you want an easily digestible refresher or reference guide this is not a bad book to pick up.

[Robert Kiehn]

Good book on critical thinking skills and logical fallacies.

[Ozone]

It's a long read. Meaning, this is more of a textbook than it is casual reading. It's still worth a read if you're inclined to debate and argue about things that don't involve your loved ones.