bloop wrote:
I do wonder if some NTs who try and argue "illogically" have learned to do so, consciously or subconsciously, in order to manipulate the situation and get their own way. With people who are that way inclined they are strategically (again, consciously or subconsciously) ignoring the details of the facts so they can bend the truth in order to win.
Don't beat yourselves up about not being able to do this, it's not a very nice skill to be using especially in the workplace. Although it can be quite useful I suppose if you have to deal with someone who plays the game like this and you need to stoop to their level in order to hold your own.
I'd like to point out that I believe most NTs are honest when they're arguing, and the ones that aren't are usually just scared of confrontation or upsetting people and this can be why they bend the truth. The other main reason for behaving like this is that they simply are bad managers and have not received appropriate personnel training (a common fault in the workplace from what I can tell).
I agree. A lot of people don't really know how to argue logically. They inject too much of an emotional stake in it. The language may be more lofty, but if you break it down to the nuts and bolts of what they're trying to say, you will more often than not find that (other than their opinion, of which they give very high regard) there's nothing there but unqualified schoolyard bickering. I believe that anyone who argues has honest feelings about the subject they're opposed to or trying to defend - they just lack the skills to articulate what it is they're trying to say. Most people, IMO, don't really know 'how' to utilize the basic "if-then" principle of logic. There are 'life coaches' out there, as well as 'personality coaches' and so on. Why not 'Argument' or 'Logic' Coaches, too? Seems to be a need for it...
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Terminal Outsider, rogue graphic designer & lunatic fringe.
01 Jun 2008, 12:57 pm
