Why Should We Argue With Idiots?

The other day I got asked ‘is there any point in arguing with idiots?’. An interesting question, seeing as we often consider anyone who holds a different opinion to us as being an idiot, and if you have an opinion on anything, there are going to be those that disagree, so I figured I’d put my thoughts together to answer them… and here we are.

In all honesty, I googled a definition of Idiot to kick this off. Turns out the synonyms for ‘a stupid person’ are numerous… and wonderful. Unfortunately, and far less wonderful; in the real world, dealing with stupid people is an unavoidable and regrettable part of adult life. Particularly if you are in the public sphere in any capacity discussing facts, opinions or events. Equally regrettable is the reduction of people who don't agree with you to the designation of 'idiot'.

It is tempting to shy away from opportunities to converse with bothersome individuals, and there are many reasons to avoid them, however, there are also several reasons why we should 'argue with idiots'.

Firstly, there needs to be an acknowledgement that not every person you come across is in any way inclined to listen to, understand or care about what you have to say. In fact, the inverse relationship between intelligence and confidence in ones’ knowledge has been scientifically proven by a pair of researchers who have named the correlation between low ability and illusory superiority, the Dunning-Kruger effect.

In layman terms, what this infuriating phenomenon means is; some people are too stupid to know they are stupid. 

Obviously arguing with these people can be like arguing with a wall. By definition they lack a basic awareness of what they don’t know coupled with a deep confidence that they do, in fact, know. In the cases where you believe that you would like to brave an attempt to change some ninnys mind about a particular topic, tip number one is to think of it less like an argument, more like an educational insight.

               Tip one; Park your arguing hat, in favour of an educating one. Rather than trying to win try to help them learn.

They say that teaching people is the best way to learn yourself, so the double win is that your own cognitive and persuasive abilities should invariably improve as a matter of course. This is valuable for when you move from the realm of the nitwit, to that of the scholarly, and you find your communication skills to be finely honed as a result of your education of the general crowd of wazzocks that permeate the internet or real life.

                               Tip Two; You learn more yourself by attempting to educate fools. Take responsibility for what they are able to digest, rather than what you are able to say.

Imagine, for a moment, that you observe some drunken misogynist abusing a poor woman on the train. He makes very little sense, is clearly agitated, inebriated and saying stupid (but offensive) things. Now, if you take the stance that the only time to argue with idiots is when they need to be shown the error of their ways, this will most certainly not be an opportune time to do so.

He is unlikely to change his mind any time soon, being drunk is not a great time to seek deep, life changing understandings of the human condition, despite what all the deep and meaningful, late night drunken chats with friends might suggest.

Argue might be the wrong word here, but certainly it is an opportune moment to speak up. Not because it will change their mind, but because it offers support to the woman who is no doubt feeling particularly isolated and in the spotlight of this persons unwanted attention. Sometimes it is a good reason to begin some kind of discourse with idiots, in order to let people who feel the same way, or are affected negatively by said idiot know, that they are not on their own, that others feel the same way and that there is some support for them in the world. This is not a great time to demand that they agree with you, but it is certainly a moment to let them know that you don’t agree with their behaviour.

               Tip three: Better debates empower others with words, concepts and understandings they may not have had, if you didn’t bring this conversation to their attention.

The final main reason to engage with idiots, in discussion/debates/arguments is because in your articulation of a position, we often allow an audience who struggle to find words for their sentiments, to see how they might best explain their positions (or alternatively to see how not to explain their position). A vigorous public discourse, with intellectual rigour and erudition, raises the standard of discussion across the board. People are less distracted by the pomp and bombast of words like ‘pomp’, ’erudition’ and ‘bombast’. They are given sharper intellectual tools to discuss the heart of issues and are also offered more opportunities to see the points of view of others (whether they are right or wrong).

Improved, long-form, detailed, in depth discussions in the public eye are a great way to remove prejudice, improve understanding and bring people together. The point of public discussion, once again, is not necessarily to change everyone’s mind on the spot, but to leave them with more tools, more information with which to tackle their ideas and positions on particular issues. Clarity of position helps with clarity of discussion, and clarity of communication is always a positive thing.

We should argue with idiots in certain cases, for these three reasons, and while I am absolutely not denying the existence of idiots in general, we should probably not call people who don’t understand or agree with us idiots as a default setting.

Being nice, understanding, knowledgeable and taking the time to explore issues deeply and properly is needed now more than ever. Less sound bites, less tweets, more discussions, with ourselves and with each other. We may disagree fully or in part, we may disagree with fundamental assumptions in certain situations that mean we will never totally agree, but we can do better at understanding. That much is for certain.

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