Blog & Mablog Right Reason and the Smudge
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Apr 7, 2026 Discussion of why public argument has become sloppy and hostile. Exploration of how relativism and tribal loyalty warp reasoning. Examination of truth grounded in divine character and the danger of treating opponents as wholly wrong. Stories illustrating lost civility and examples of poor reasoning on both political sides.
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Bad Reasoning Is A Moral Failing
- Public discourse is corrupted by pervasive bad reasoning that functions as a moral failing.
- Doug Wilson likens logical fallacies to dross in silver and says losing absolute truth leaves people "tossed to and fro" like cottonwood fluff.
Tribal Loyalty Replaces Truth
- Relativism flips loyalties so that tribe becomes the absolute instead of truth.
- Wilson explains people adopt claims to suit affiliations and then never retract falsehoods once they've served tribal ends, citing viral photo examples.
Use The Opponent Test For Honest Conviction
- Test whether someone worships truth or tribe by seeing if they ever credit an opponent's fair point.
- Wilson offers this litmus test to distinguish genuine commitment to truth from mere partisan loyalty.
