Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion

by Jay Heinrichs

To win a deliberative argument, don’t try to outscore your opponent. Try instead to get your way.

NED FLANDERS: You ugly, hate-filled man. MOE: Hey, I may be ugly, and I may be hate-filled, but … uh … what was the last thing you said?

Men used to wear coat and tie to the movies, but they also smoked in them.

Extremists usually describe the middle course as extreme.

Now that our kids are grown, new parents think that my wife and I must know something about children. And in fact we do—about our own children.

And have you noticed how political figures often begin their sentences with “And”? Many use it as a substitute for “Um” or “You know” while they think of what to say. “And” gives continuity and flow to oral speech. Use it too much, though, and you sound like a manic prophet.

His repetitive use of code language extended to women. Before his reelection, Bush appealed to women with sentences that began, “I understand,” and he repeated words such as “peace” and “security” and “protecting.” For the military, he used “Never relent” and “Whatever it takes” and “We must not waver” and “Not on my watch.” For Christians, he began sentences with “and,” just as the Bible does:

Aristotle said that uneducated people speak more simply, “which makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences.”