Presuppositions:
- "You don't care about (X)."
- "You should care (X); you're rotten not to."
- "Therefore, you should feel very guilty."
Defenses:
- One possible response: "No, why?"
Good shock treatment, but will
rarely work twice with the same person.
- Better response: present a question about presupposition.
- When presented with a totally abstract Attack 3, do not stoop to
quibbling over how much you care. Ask them which report they are referring
to, the "R" report or the "S" report, and make both of them up. Then look
astonished that they don't care enougth to keep current on the subject.
- Example:
- "Don't you even care about the thousands of people who go to bed
hungry in this country every night?"
Presuppositions:
- "You don't care about all those poor people." (Blamer Mode)
- "You should care about those poor people; you're an awful person
not to." (Blamer Mode)
- "Therefore, you should feel very guilty." (Blamer Mode)
- Possible Responses:
- "Which study are you referring to on that? The Calemet Institute Report
or the one from the Borogrovian Center for Social Research." (Computer Mode)
- Another Example:
- "Don't you even care about the effect your smoking has on the
health of your husband and children?"
Presuppositions:
- "You don't care about your family." (Blamer Mode)
- "You should care about your family; you're an awful person
not to." (Blamer Mode)
- "Therefore, you should feel very guilty." (Blamer Mode)
- Possible Response:
- "When did you get the impression that I didn't care?" (Computer Mode)
- "Then why are you still smoking?" (Blamer Mode)
- "Doctor, a professional like yourself is perfectly aware of the
difficulty of conquering an addiction." (Computer Mode)
- "One must at least try to quit, if they want to stop." (Computer Mode)
- "I have been trying, I now only smoke a half pack now, instead
of a pack a day." (Leveler Mode)
- "Good! Keep up the good work."
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