Filipino Sophistry is Bothersome
What is Sophistry
Sophistry is the practice of using fallacious arguments and rhetoric, with the intention of deceiving and manipulating the world, in order to gain the their “excellence” by winning debates and arguments.
In Early Athenian Civilizations, prestige comes from the idea of an individual being able to uphold arguments and win it, regardless of the truth.
Sophists are philosophers, which are paid to teach rhetoric philosophy, and mathematics that aims to win their arguments rather than reaching the truth. The concept of their truth is Subjective and Relative, meaning the things they perceive are the truth to them; which sparks a giant problem if we think about it.
The Concept of Subjective Truth is already a red flag on it’s own, not only because it undermines the truth, it also kills the ability of the person to Critically Think and discourages healthy conversations.
If you haven’t subscribed to the newsletter yet, you can do so here:
Now, why do I think Filipinos are Sophists in a bad way?
By my experiences and other accounts of people’s experiences, I can name a several instances of the use of Sophistry just to win for the sake of argument in the comment sections of a Post
For Example:
Taking Things out of Context
Like this fanatic down Below, the person in the picture down below seems stupid, but it is horribly out of context.
I won’t be linking the YouTube as it brings unwanted attention by the Fanatics.
It is already fact-checked by multiple fact-checking organizations and netizens, but this goes to show how low people can go just to tarnish one’s reputation.
Some of the comments are actually hilarious to read and depressing as well because this Culture on the use of Sophistry in modern times hinders the ability of the Philippines and it’s citizens to have a better quality of life and possibly the whole governing system in all aspects of public agencies.
Attempts of Historical Revisionism
Another example comes from the Socio-Political Climate resulting in attempts on Revisionism of History (From erasing the atrocities during the Martial Law Period in the Philippines, painting one political party as evil because of personal vendettas).
The use of Deception (Misuse of Statistics and Data on the events during Martial Law Period; more reads HERE) , Propaganda, and Blind Devotion to their so-called “Saviors”, just because their grandparents told them so, results to stupid things like this.
I know that we are Entitled to our own Freedom of Speech but have you ever seen this actual attempt at Revisioning an Important Part of Philippine History fueled by Hunger for Wealth and Power? Including the Fanaticism of some individuals which defies all logic and Critical Thinking?
Freedom of Speech and having an opinion does not apply if there is already sufficient evidence pointing toward the truth and it does not exempt you on your Responsibilities.
Well, every Stupid decision is possible here in the Philippines I have to say. Which looks grim for the future of the Filipino Citizens, because this kind of status quo kills the ability of the Citizens to Critically Think and to engage in Healthy Conversations.
Like it hadn’t been dead for a long time actually.
It is reminiscent of the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury where the books are outlawed because of the doctrine where books are considered dissenting toward the status quo of the society and thus it is evil; which is far from the truth and propagated by authoritarian regimes to maintain their stability and power.
Books are essential toward propagation of ideas, information, entertain and healthy criticism and it serves as reminders of the horrors of the past, and any attempts of dismissing it only results to repeating the same chaos of the past. I am pretty sure fanatics don’t even get the concept of the objective truth, but enlightenment of ignorance is paramount to achieve the truth.
Fanaticism and Filipino Sophistry
Speaking of Fanatics, Fanaticism is the behavior of Uncritical Thinking and Zeal where an individual forgets their own moral standards and tolerances toward things. I have found correlations thought of the hypothesis of what tendencies of personalities which likely turns to be fanatical.
A Fanatic could exhibit the following Behaviors:
If one, values winning an argument and discussions over achieving the Truth.
If one, denies factual evidence just because it doesn’t fit their narrative.
If one, exhibits egotistical and arrogant behavior.
If one, seeks validation of biases resulting from the fragility of their values.
If one, says fallacious statements in order to invalidate one’s efforts of seeking the truth.
Fanaticism defies all logical reasoning and moral standards, because it lacks both which
What can we do?
From what I see, a decisive solution to this problem does not exist if we cannot end this culture of convenience and corruption in order to get ahead, and stop voting candidates with irrelevant qualifications and vague platforms they would implement.
For now, putting off intellectual differences and actually talking in an engaging manner works more often than not, where you don’t press anything about their beliefs and asking people what made them think that way.
As per individual, Practice critical thinking and objectively looking at situations at hand, and do not jump toward conclusions just because somebody told you they knew it.
It’s been a while since I posted and I apologize for the lack of content this past few weeks. I have been entangled with my personal life and this newsletter, but finally I have found time to publish this. As compensation, I would like you guys and gals to choose which insights should I publish next.
Anyways, that is all for now. I hope I have imparted some novel knowledge to you and see you on the next Insight!
If you knew new valuable things, feel free to share my insights
Have any opinions regarding this topic? Feel free to comment them below:
Credit for the Thumbnail Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash