As Thanksgiving approaches so does a season full of family gatherings. In the next month you will probably have the opportunity to spend time with loved ones that you do not regularly see. Sitting around the dinner table you may find yourself in the midst of conversations that will be challenging. It’s okay! Don’t be afraid to participate in meaningful conversations. Below are three common, contemporary obstacles and a tip on how to overcome each of them.
Obstacle #1: A distrust of words
In our current cultural climate words are seen as little more than tools that are used to try to gain power. The moment you open your mouth to speak it is not unusual for the listener to be suspicious of your motivations. How can we overcome this challenge to meaningful conversation? The answer is obvious.
Tip #1: Spend more time listening than talking.
Obstacle #2: A lack of interest in pursuing truth
Most of us have become pretty lazy when it comes to pursuing truth because our culture has given us a less, mentally strenuous path. They have declared truth to be subjective. Come up with your own version of the truth, a truth that works best for you, one that makes you happy. Pursuing truth sounds like too much work. If you invite someone to join you in a conversational hunt for truth, there is a good chance that they will not be interested. So how do you have a meaningful conversation with someone who isn’t interested in truth? Truth has a backdoor! Truth is not philosophical mumbo jumbo. Certainty provides comfort. Natural Law and God’s revealed Word are the Mother and Father of everything that is beautiful in the world. People are attracted to beauty. They like to talk about beautiful things…especially in a world with so much ugliness. What should you do if the person you are talking to isn’t interested in pursuing truth?
Tip #2: Pursue something beautiful.
Obstacle #3: A lack of awareness of logical fallacies
Most of us are pretty easily intimidated when people disagree with us. Even when we know that what someone is saying is wrong, we can’t figure out how to disagree with them. Their argument seems pretty convincing. In fact, sometimes even while our own principles are correct, the logical steps we take to defend them are poorly constructed. If we are going to get better at having meaningful conversations, we need to spend a little time learning something that probably no one every formally taught us, logic. I have quite a few resources that you might find helpful. What should we do to improve our ability to engage in a proper debate?
Tip #3: Know a bad argument when you hear it.