The Power of an Unconstrained Counterargument- @TheOrphanMan #OnWriting

(Applicable to Opinion Writing)

The counterargument is always the most important part of any essay. I remember being taught that a counterargument should be contained, as the focus of a sovereign section of the manuscript.

What was written, was to be a formulated attack upon what was the key opposing side of an argument- somehow magically sinking an intellectual sword, into the heart of the opposing argument in when swell section.

The problem with writing this way, I find, is that it disables the opportunities of nuance throughout the entire article.

Anyone who has ever been in a debate team knows that for every pro there is a con. What sense then, comes from containing the counterargument to a single paragraph- as opposed to addressing things issue by issue.

By reserving judgement until the end of the piece of writing, the writer naturally lets the details of the nuanced downsides to each of their arguments fade in with the bigger picture of the piece.

           I will even go so far as to say that this way of writing is antiskeptical. In a sense it is telling us to ignore the implicitly inclusive counterarguments of each nuance in favor of concentration on the most superficial of ideas.

           Furthermore, even if the writer does manage implicate each nuance into their counterargument, they will find themselves having to repeat sentences from ealier paragraphs or roughen transitions.

           Writing affects our cognition unlike any other activity because it is a tool that replaces our cognition; in other words, if the wheel was made to carry more weight- writing was made to carry more cognitive information than the human mind ever could.

           By teaching people to write this way for the entirety of a 12 year education, only creates a conduit for ant-skeptical way of thinking- that only considers the most obvious flip sides to their own worldviews, beliefs, and ways of thinking.

The alternative would be to write let any counterargument that might come to you in the same breath as it’s opposition. You will find that your writing would then resemble both a more lucid form and more lucid understanding of itself- that rather then all being interconnected to one index like section of counterarguments- would be interconnected paragraph by paragraph.

Some of the best examples of the kind of writing I am talking about can be found @CrashCourse. Especially in their world history and particularly in heir big history playlist; where they try to give you as wide as wide array of history references and opinions for each topic they cover- as well as sometimes adding their own opinion in conclusion.

It is this form of writing that I also strive to do @TheOrphanMan

The counterarguments you tend to hear on a debate platform. Are more organic than the counterarguments that they told us to write in English class.

Still, the very fact the the debate platform is usually formulated in such an immovable way- makes it subject to the same confinement as the formulaic counterargument