by Brandon Edwards<\/p>\n
In an era of constant debate, arguments, and discussions, I have noticed a fascinating trend that has become embedded in these moments – namely, Bulverism.<\/p>\n
Now, you may have never heard of the term, and that is absolutely fine; however, I guarantee that you have likely experienced it firsthand. It’s a sneaky logical fallacy coined by C.S. Lewis back in the 1940s, and once you spot it, you’ll see it everywhere-in debates, social media arguments, even politics.<\/p>\n
Here’s the gist: Bulverism happens when someone dismisses your argument not by proving it’s wrong, but by assuming it’s wrong from the start and then “explaining” why you believe it.\u00a0Like, “Oh, you only say that because you’re a (insert label: rich\/poor, liberal\/conservative, biased, etc.).” They skip the actual evidence and go straight to psychoanalyzing your motives.<\/p>\n
For example, imagine debating climate change. Instead of countering your facts, someone says, “You deny it because you’re funded by oil companies.” Boom-Bulverism. Or in everyday life: “You support that policy just because you’re (privileged, white, black, etc.).” No actual refutation, just an attack on “why” you think it.<\/p>\n
Why is this important to know? In our hyper-polarized world, Bulverism poisons honest discussion. It shuts down dialogue, turns debates into personal attacks, and lets weak ideas win by dodging the facts. Spotting it helps you demand better: “Okay, but address my point first-then question my motives if you must.” It’s a shield for critical thinking, forcing arguments to focus on substance rather than smears. By doing this, we are all ultimately helped.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Brandon Edwards In an era of constant debate, arguments, and discussions, I have noticed a fascinating trend that has become embedded in these moments – namely, Bulverism. Now, you may have never heard of the term, and that is absolutely fine; however, I guarantee that you have likely experienced it firsthand. It’s a sneaky…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1838],"class_list":["post-89088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-debate"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34952,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-you-review-this-debate-on-whether-god-exists\/","url_meta":{"origin":89088,"position":0},"title":"Could you review this debate on whether God exists?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Can you look at this is a video of a debate asking if the God of the Bible exists? Now it's lengthy, but I imagine you will skim through the main points. My question is if you could address some of the statements that were made because I feel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48980,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-fundamental-question-concerning-abortion\/","url_meta":{"origin":89088,"position":1},"title":"A Fundamental Question Concerning Abortion","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Many of the arguments concerning abortion are emotionally based. Those who oppose abortion can fall into the emotional trap by pointing out how cute a baby is and asking how anyone can hurt it. It's the same appeal made by those who oppose killing cute baby seals.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17087,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/learning-from-the-vaticans-reversal-on-galileo\/","url_meta":{"origin":89088,"position":2},"title":"Learning from the Vatican’s Reversal on Galileo","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 21, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton December 21, 2008, was the 400th anniversary of Galileo's use of the telescope, and the Roman Catholic church took the opportunity to announce once again that it had made a mistake in condemning Galileo. It is actually not the first time it has admitted to this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Justus_Sustermans_-_Portrait_of_Galileo_Galilei_1636-236x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":68400,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ad-hominem-arguments\/","url_meta":{"origin":89088,"position":3},"title":"Ad Hominem Arguments","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer One of the most common logical fallacies is the ad hominem. It occurs when a person attacks the character of another rather than addressing the argument. There are many ways this happens, but one that I have seen several times is in questioning the honesty of one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52360,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-proper-to-get-mad-at-my-parents-because-they-are-putting-me-in-the-middle-of-their-arguments\/","url_meta":{"origin":89088,"position":4},"title":"Is it proper to get mad at my parents because they are putting me in the middle of their arguments?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My parents are Christians; however, lately, my parents have had relational issues that disrupt our family. Many times I'm pulled into the middle between them, and it feels as if I'm the parent trying to keep them decent so that my younger siblings won't feel like they're walking on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30878,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-argue-against-abortion-with-a-non-christian-and-how-do-you-know-when-it-is-time-to-end-a-debate\/","url_meta":{"origin":89088,"position":5},"title":"How do you argue against abortion with a non-Christian? And how do you know when it is time to end a debate?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've found myself in a pretty heated abortion debate. I've had no problems finding inconsistencies in most of the arguments, but I'm seeing no progress made, and it's taking quite a bit of time to answer the arguments, especially with things I've already said a number of times. I'm\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89088\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}