"Biases" and Reason-Lines

 

LANGUAGE.

         The previous sections discuss the method of logic. This section is simply a practical guide to applying this logic to the areas where errors are most prevalent. In particular, the cases I will discuss on this page all revolve around particular words. These words are often emotional, philosophical, and cultural. I use the term "bias" to refer to them for memorability sake. The fact that I use a word with a negative association (i.e. bias) to encapsulate this idea doesn't offer any reason to avoid such terms. The reason to be careful with these terms is that they are often used without logical reasoning.

Some commonly used "biased" words/concepts
Vague Terms Religious/Moral Terms Judgment Terms Social Terms Value Terms
should/ought to
to need
to matter

right/wrong (in the moral sense)
good/bad/evil
moral/immoral
honor/honorable

fair/unfair

just/justify/justice
rights(as in natural rights)

 insult/compliment
complain/whine
accuse/blame
sorry/apologize		 nigger/ofay
un-American
puerile/childish/immature

self-centered/selfish
appropriate/inappropriate
too
purpose/point 		dirty/filthy/unclean/disgusting/repulsive
perverse/unnatural
heathen/infidel

duty/purpose/meaning

guilty/innocent
deserves
cause/fault/responsible
earn		 worth/value
shame
decency
respect rude/polite		freak
brave
coward/wuss
-Various other words. Not all usages of words in the above list are biased, but at least one usage per word is. Much depends on who says what and how. The key is just to realize when this is being done.
        The above classifications don't really have any use. I just put them there so I could break the table into columns and save space. The entries in bold are the ones I find are most likely to alter one's method of thinking.

      The examples section shows how a person might resolve more philosophical questions.