To counteract these psychological tendencies, we need to make better use of the thinking tools that have been developed since AristotleвЂ™s invention of logic.ДЄ particular step forward has been the identification and labelling of various different types of bad argument, collectively known as informal fallacies. However, in the last hundred years, cognitive science has made it increasingly evident that we largely see the world through biases, and do not reliably think either rationally or objectively when left to our own devices, including in our economic choices. Classical economic theory, for instance, is based on the assumption that we tend to make rational decisions. It didnвЂ™t used to be thought that we require tools for thinking better. Whenever a useful new word is invented, a new thinking tool is made available. Language, for instance, is a thinking tool, because it enables us to think better, through internal dialogue and by the sharing of ideas with others. In the same way that there are tools for building, there are what philosopher Daniel Dennett calls вЂthinking toolsвЂ™. In fact, by the time you finish reading this article you will have become smarter, because you will see the flaws in your own and othersвЂ™ arguments more clearly. Have you ever heard of the Straw Man fallacy, or the Red Herring fallacy? If not, perhaps you will be interested to know that these form parts of a set of concepts that have the potential to enhance your thinking power. SUBSCRIBE NOW Articles Bad Arguments That Make You Smarter Henrik Schoeneberg gets smart about fallacious reasoning.

The red herring fallacy examples