F-Word Fallacy

The fallacy that, by using the F-word, you make it plain that you are cutting through all elaboration and pretentious rubbish and getting to the heart of the matter with laser-like discipline (which the other side may lack). The F-word may reveal that you are so high on certainty that you have forgotten to make any argument at all. And yet, in the presence of bad faith, shock and absence, the F-word and its relatives may be well justified: it is a wake up call. The F-word is the emotions’ version of the discreet cough.

 

Related entries:

Indignation, Insult.

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David Fleming
Dr David Fleming (2 January 1940 – 29 November 2010) was a cultural historian and economist, based in London, England. He was among the first to reveal the possibility of peak oil's approach and invented the influential TEQs scheme, designed to address this and climate change. He was also a pioneer of post-growth economics, and a significant figure in the development of the UK Green Party, the Transition Towns movement and the New Economics Foundation, as well as a Chairman of the Soil Association. His wide-ranging independent analysis culminated in two critically acclaimed books, 'Lean Logic' and 'Surviving the Future', published posthumously in 2016. These in turn inspired the 2020 launches of both BAFTA-winning director Peter Armstrong's feature film about Fleming's perspective and legacy - 'The Sequel: What Will Follow Our Troubled Civilisation?' - and Sterling College's unique 'Surviving the Future: Conversations for Our Time' online courses. For more information on all of the above, including Lean Logic, click the little globe below!

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