The fallacy of assuming that it's possible to convince or argue with anyone about anything—even the most absurd, unacceptable, or monstrous positions—through sufficient rationality, evidence, and persuasion. The fallacy ignores that some positions are not reached through reason and cannot be dislodged by it. You cannot argue someone out of a position they didn't argue themselves into. The defender of slavery, the apologist for genocide, the advocate of racist policies—these are not positions that yield to evidence because they were not based on evidence. The Fallacy of Impossible Convincing is beloved of those who believe that all disagreement is misunderstanding, that all conflict can be resolved through dialogue, that the only problem is insufficient communication. It's a noble fallacy, but a fallacy nonetheless.
Example: "He spent years trying to convince his racist uncle that racism was wrong—studies, arguments, personal stories, everything. Nothing worked. The Fallacy of Impossible Convincing had promised that reason would prevail; reason didn't. Some positions are not reachable by argument because they were not reached by argument. He finally understood: you can't reason someone out of something they didn't reason themselves into."
by Abzugal February 21, 2026
Get the Fallacy of Impossible Convincing mug.The fallacy of assuming that it is possible to convince or argue with anyone about anything—including positions so extreme, so absurd, so morally repugnant that they should be beyond the pale of debate. The Fallacy of Impossible Convincing imagines that reason is omnipotent, that every position can be engaged, that no topic is off-limits for discussion. It leads people to "debate" whether slavery should be reinstated, whether genocide has merits, whether racism is defensible—as if these were open questions rather than settled horrors. The fallacy ignores that some positions are not reached through reason and cannot be dislodged by it. Engaging them as if they were reasonable gives them legitimacy they don't deserve.
Example: "He insisted on debating whether racism had any merits—'just to hear all sides.' The Fallacy of Impossible Convincing had convinced him that every position deserved a hearing, that reason could handle anything. But some things aren't positions; they're atrocities. Engaging them as arguments legitimizes what should only be condemned. He wasn't being open-minded; he was being complicit."
by Abzugal February 21, 2026
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The application of Critical Theory to the continental tradition in philosophy—examining its assumptions, its methods, its relationship to power, and its potential for liberation. Critical Theory of Continental Philosophy asks: How has continental philosophy engaged with history, politics, and power? How has it been shaped by its European context? What are its blind spots? How might it be transformed by dialogue with other traditions? It doesn't celebrate uncritically but insists that continental philosophy's strengths—its attention to history, power, and embodiment—must be combined with self-critique and openness to other voices.
"Continental philosophy is just obscurantism, they say. Critical Theory of Continental Philosophy asks: obscurantist by whose standards? The tradition engages questions analytic philosophy ignores—power, history, embodiment. That doesn't make it wrong; it makes it different. Critical theory insists on asking: what can we learn from this tradition, and what are its own blind spots?"
by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal March 4, 2026
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Public Service Announcement: It Is Approved To Continue Naming THe First Episode Of television Series A "'Pilot'" Because Of Zodiac Sign Slogans :Announcement Service Public
by Angel234IsTheDarkSeraphim April 14, 2025
Get the Public Service Announcement: It Is Approved To Continue Naming THe First Episode Of television Series A "'Pilot'" Because Of Zodiac Sign Slogans :Announcement Service Public mug.Weak, Alex. Weak sauce. Pretty soon you're going to be doing your videos in spastically-colored suits and accusing your audience of not knowing what they mean when they say words.
Hym "Wouldn't I be a Post-Mortem, Contingent Nihilist? I mean, I've been pretty explicit. And I've infected Jordan Peterson with it. Now he's haunted by the idea that no matter what he does, immediately after his death his kids will have terrible misfortune. At the moment of his death he can assume that the rest of time will occur. His loved ones effectively die with him. And now, in his insane desperation, he's trying to collude with the government to make earth hell for 'the wrong type of person' to poison the well with his own rotting corpse."
by Hym Iam June 9, 2024
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You Ar Eonly Allowed TO Stab Non-Consensually ANda Conincentially WIth A Steak Knife Because It Looks Like Teeth
by Angel234IsTheDarkSeraphim May 1, 2025
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