Honestly, I’ve seen a few different definitions for it, from an argument that’s just meant to br antagonistic, another is that it’s one where the one making seeks to win no matter what, another is where the person making it knows it’s wrong but makes it anyway.
Can anyone nail down what arguing in bad faith actually is for me? If so, that’d be great.
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A bad faith argument is one in which you are being insincere about your intentions.
A good example is the following.
You are trying to sell something. You are asking $120 for it.
Someone comes to you, and says, I’ll buy it for $100.
However, they’re negotiating in bad faith; they don’t intend to pay anything at all for what you’re selling. If you agreed to sell it to them for $100, they would find an excuse for why they can’t pay $100 for it; now they’re offering $80, and if you met that ask, they would go even lower, because their only aim is to destroy you, not to engage in an honest transaction.
“You should vote for me because the earth is flat and my opponent sucks on toads.”
I know, or should know, that the earth is not flat. *I’m arguing in bad faith because I’m resting my argument on a premise that I should know to be faulty, but I’m asking you to accept it anyway.*
I don’t have any good reason to believe that my opponent sucks toads. *I’m arguing in bad faith because I’m making an unlikely accusation without evidence.*
What’s more, there’s no connection between my election and the shape of the earth. *I’m arguing in bad faith because I’m claiming that something supports my conclusion when I know it to be irrelevant.*
And by the way, any amphibians that may live in my terrarium are not your business, and neither is what I do with them. *I’m arguing in bad faith because I’m holding my opponent to a standard that I don’t hold myself, namely inspection of our possible toad-sucking habits.*
A bad faith argument is one in which you are being insincere about your intentions.
A good example is the following.
You are trying to sell something. You are asking $120 for it.
Someone comes to you, and says, I’ll buy it for $100.
However, they’re negotiating in bad faith; they don’t intend to pay anything at all for what you’re selling. If you agreed to sell it to them for $100, they would find an excuse for why they can’t pay $100 for it; now they’re offering $80, and if you met that ask, they would go even lower, because their only aim is to destroy you, not to engage in an honest transaction.
A bad faith argument is where they argue using only fallacy, because their view is objectively wrong and they can’t ‘win’ any other way
Their goal then is not to reach understanding, it’s just to wear the other person down until they get bored of talking to them. Some people like that so much that they’ll form groups to argue like that with people, in bad faith, purely because they find it entertaining (it isn’t much effort to argue in fallacy, and it’s frustrating for the person they’re talking to, so it’s low effort high reward if you find annoying other people to be entertaining)
It’s also just used as a way to derail discussions that don’t involve them but that they don’t want to happen, by interjecting in a way where a critical mass of others will ‘take the bait’ and respond to them instead
The ‘in bad faith’ part of “a bad faith argument” also tends to suggest that they know they are doing it
“You should vote for me because the earth is flat and my opponent sucks on toads.”
I know, or should know, that the earth is not flat. *I’m arguing in bad faith because I’m resting my argument on a premise that I should know to be faulty, but I’m asking you to accept it anyway.*
I don’t have any good reason to believe that my opponent sucks toads. *I’m arguing in bad faith because I’m making an unlikely accusation without evidence.*
What’s more, there’s no connection between my election and the shape of the earth. *I’m arguing in bad faith because I’m claiming that something supports my conclusion when I know it to be irrelevant.*
And by the way, any amphibians that may live in my terrarium are not your business, and neither is what I do with them. *I’m arguing in bad faith because I’m holding my opponent to a standard that I don’t hold myself, namely inspection of our possible toad-sucking habits.*
A bad faith argument is where they argue using only fallacy, because their view is objectively wrong and they can’t ‘win’ any other way
Their goal then is not to reach understanding, it’s just to wear the other person down until they get bored of talking to them. Some people like that so much that they’ll form groups to argue like that with people, in bad faith, purely because they find it entertaining (it isn’t much effort to argue in fallacy, and it’s frustrating for the person they’re talking to, so it’s low effort high reward if you find annoying other people to be entertaining)
It’s also just used as a way to derail discussions that don’t involve them but that they don’t want to happen, by interjecting in a way where a critical mass of others will ‘take the bait’ and respond to them instead
The ‘in bad faith’ part of “a bad faith argument” also tends to suggest that they know they are doing it
“You should vote for me because the earth is flat and my opponent sucks on toads.”
I know, or should know, that the earth is not flat. *I’m arguing in bad faith because I’m resting my argument on a premise that I should know to be faulty, but I’m asking you to accept it anyway.*
I don’t have any good reason to believe that my opponent sucks toads. *I’m arguing in bad faith because I’m making an unlikely accusation without evidence.*
What’s more, there’s no connection between my election and the shape of the earth. *I’m arguing in bad faith because I’m claiming that something supports my conclusion when I know it to be irrelevant.*
And by the way, any amphibians that may live in my terrarium are not your business, and neither is what I do with them. *I’m arguing in bad faith because I’m holding my opponent to a standard that I don’t hold myself, namely inspection of our possible toad-sucking habits.*
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