They pro-gunner syllogism is:
Except that is a fallacy, because the premise that guns make us safe is false. Because quantifiable, qualifiable, measured objective reality shows us that the more guns we have - civilian guns, not police weapons, not military guns - we are less safe, as measured in threat and intimidation such as road rage and partner abuse, as measured in homicides, suicides and accidents. Even intentional defensive gun use is undesirable when less violent, less destructive means are available, ranging from passive defense which can be things like security systems to less lethal weaponry like tasers.
More Guns make us safe,An Enthymeme is a syllogism that involves an unstated and assumed premise. There are a lot of assumptions made by the pro-gunners that are false or flawed that they argue from incorrectly, and therefore arrive at an inaccurate conclusion.
(America has more guns than anyone else in the world)
Therefore America must be the safest place in the world.
Except that is a fallacy, because the premise that guns make us safe is false. Because quantifiable, qualifiable, measured objective reality shows us that the more guns we have - civilian guns, not police weapons, not military guns - we are less safe, as measured in threat and intimidation such as road rage and partner abuse, as measured in homicides, suicides and accidents. Even intentional defensive gun use is undesirable when less violent, less destructive means are available, ranging from passive defense which can be things like security systems to less lethal weaponry like tasers.
The reality is that most gun violence involves people who know each other, not protecting loved ones from strangers attempting to commit crimes against loved ones. The reality is like this incident which underlines the premise which is so flawed about guns making us safer:
Until we get the gun side of the discussion to be more factual and honest about the fallacies in their reasoning, we are going to be less successful in achieving either an understanding of fact, or a consensus on fact. Without a valid premise, and better understanding of how to reason logically, we face an uphill battle with the pro-gunners who mostly engage in repeating false talking points instead of actual argumentation.
So in a very real sense, we have to both educate the pro-gunners on facts, but also on how reason and argument and logic operate. We need to wean them away from their obsession with gun trivia on comparative weapons specs, and get them to instead start learning how to think more clearly and critically, like introducing them to concepts like what an enthymeme is.
Great post. You are so right. We are talking past each other but we may continue to do so. As long as we get the majority of reasonable gun owners to support common sense gun laws, we will be able to do some good. The others will never come along and will always be a fringe group. I have educated more than a few reasonable gun owners who actually are willing to consider my arguments.
ReplyDeleteIt's part of the fantasy world the gun guys live in, seeing themselves as family heroes or vigiliantes saving the day with their shiny symbol of safety and patriotism. No amount of statistics demonstrating the obvious falseness of this will overcome that preconceived notion, and the handful of reports of home invasions or legit self-defense vastly outweigh in their minds the thousands of other illegal uses of guns, usually at the hands of family or people known to the victim.
ReplyDelete