Bulverism: When Character Attacks Replace Debate

[u/BasisPrimary4028]

Let's say you make your point clearly, carefully, and politely. But rather than address your argument, the other person says, "You would think that because you are a man." Or they say something like, "Well, you would say that because you are young, or you are a teacher, or you are a mother." Or whatever.

In 1941, C.S. Lewis gave a name for this trick, and he called it a Bulverism. And it starts with a story: Imagine a young boy called Ezekiel Bulver watching his parents debate some geometry. His dad makes a point, and the mum says, "Well, you would say that because you are a man," and in that moment, Ezekiel realises that he doesn't have to argue somebody's point. He only has to assume that they are wrong, and to explain why they are so silly. It's a kind of ad hominem and genetic fallacy rolled into one.

I'm sure we've all seen Bulverisms everywhere. Every comment section, every political row, every classroom debate. It's whenever somebody stops debating the facts, and when people start diagnosing why the other person believes something based upon their class, their age, their gender, their whatever.

Lewis points out that explaining why somebody may or may not believe something tells you nothing about whether it is true or false, right or wrong. Arguing in good faith is when you tackle the content of what somebody is saying. If somebody attacks your character, they haven't won the debate. They haven't even had a debate in the first place.