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So relevant truth becomes an issue. Identifying Arguments Arguments are composed of premises and a conclusion, where the premises are said to support, prove, or provide evidence for the conclusion. Grammar, punctuation, and reading comprehension Consider the following statement from Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan: Whensoever a man transferreth his right, or renounceth it; it is either in consideration of some right reciprocally transferred to himself, or for some other good he hopeth for thereby. For "it" is a voluntary act; and of the voluntary acts of every man, the object is some good to himself. Let us begin by asking what does the underscored word "it" refer to? An understanding of the pronoun "it" is absolutely essential to an understanding of Hobbes's argument. The pronoun "it" refers to the whole phrase "whensoever a man transferreth his right, or renounces it." How do we know this? To began with, a pronoun refers to an

Law of the excluded middle. This law states that every statement is either true or false. (1) Communists support unilateral disarmament. (2) Liberals support unilateral disarmament. ______________________________________ (3) Therefore, Liberals are Communists. Most of us would agree that statements (1) and (2) are true but that statement (3) is false. But the argument seems to imply that if statements (1) and (2) are true then statement (3) must be true. Since this argument is puzzling, let us schematize it and then analyze its content. We shall adopt the following symbols: "C" stands for Communists "L" stands for Liberals "V" stands for "supports unilateral nuclear disarmament." In schematic form the argument now looks like this: (1) C is V (2) L is V (3) L is C In order to test the accountability of the above argument, we now construct another argument with the same schematic form. (1) All camels are vegetarians (2) Lambs are

Nicholas Capaldi - How to Win Every Argument Michael P. Maslanka FORD & HARRISON LLP - THE ART OF PERSUASION OR HOW I LEARNED TO START LOVING THE REPTILE BRAIN www.hrhero.com MICHAEL P. MASLANKA - GETTING THE ANSWERS YOU WANT: EFFECTIVE DEPOSITION TECHNIQUES EFFECTIVE DEPOSITION PREPRATION www.mmaslanka@fordharrison.com

1. Work outside the enemy's experience This ability imposes chaos and disorder on the enemy, which cannot orient itself to novelty and collapses in the process. What they might have read or heard about matters less than their personal experience, which dominates their emotional lives and determines their responses. 2. Unfold the extraordinary out of the ordinary To Sun-Tzu and the ancient Chinese, doing something extraordinary has little effect without a setup of something ordinary. You had to merge the two to fix your opponents' expectations with some banal,ordinary maneuver a comfortable pattern that they would expect you to follow. Mesmerized, you would then hit them with the extraordinary, a show of stunning force from and entirely new angle. Framed by the predictable, the blow would have double the impact. Ordinary strategy that he had used earlier to fix their attention and use it for his main attack, for that would be the last thing the enemy would expect. And so

1. The false front Involved making the enemy believe that one was weaker than in fact was the case. The appearance of weakness often brings out people's aggressive side, making them drop strategy and prudence for an emotional and violent attack. Controlling the front you present to the world is the most critical deceptive skill. Instead you need to present a front that does the opposite-disarms suspicions. The best front here is weakness, which will make the other side feel superior to you, so that they either ignore you (and being ignored is very valuable at times) or are baited into an aggressive action at the wrong moment. Once it is too late, once they are committed, they can find out the hard way that you are not so weak after all. Making people think they are better than you are-smarter, stronger, more competent-is often wise, gives you breathing space to lay your plans, to manipulate. In a variation of this strategy, the front of virtue, honesty, and uprightness is o

1. Craft a plan with branches A plan with branches lets you out-maneuver your enemy because your responses to changing circumstances are faster and more rational. 2. Give yourself room to maneuver Consider the ability to move and keeping open more options than your enemy has as more important than keeping territories or possessions. You want open space, not dead positions. This means not burdening yourself with commitments that will limit your options. The need for space is psychological as well as physical; you must have an unfettered mind to create anything worthwhile. 3. Give your enemy dilemmas, not problems But a dilemma is different; whatever they do, however they respond, retreat, advance, stay still-they are still in trouble. Make every option bad; if you maneuver quickly to a point, for instance, you can force your enemies either to fight before they are ready or to retreat. They constantly are put in positions that seem alluring but are traps. 4. Create maximum disor

1. Keep them on their heels. Keep your enemies on the defensive and in reaction mode. In order to have rest oneself it is necessary to keep the enemy occupied. This throws them back on the defensive, and once they are placed that way they cannot rise up again during the campaign. Fredrick the Great (1712-1786) HARD PRESSED ON MY RIGHT; MY LEFT IS IN RETREAT. MY CENTER IS YIELDING. IMPOSSIBLE TO MANEUVER. SITUATION EXCELLENT. I AM ATTACKING. ATTAQUEZ! GENERAL FERDINAND FOCH, DURING THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE 2. Shift the battlefield Subtly shift your enemies into places and situations that are not familiar to them, you control the dynamic. Without realizing what is happening, your opponents find themselves fighting on your terms. 3. Compel mistakes Your task is twofold: to fight the battle in such a way that they cannot bring their strength or strategy into play and to create such a level of frustration that they make mistakes in the process. You do not give them enough time to

Slowness can have great value, particularly as a setup. To appear slow and deliberate, even foolish, will lull your enemies, infecting them with a sleepy attitude. Once, their guard is down an unexpected bow from the side will knock them out. Your use of slowness and speed, then, should be deliberate and controlled, never a natural tempo.

Chinese strategy of slow-slow-quick-quick: The first step, a "slow," was to meticulously prepare before any campaign, which the Mongols always did to the highest degree. The second "slow" was a setup which involved getting the enemy to lower its guard, lulling it into complacency. Then came the first "quick" fixing the enemy's attention forward with a swift frontal attack. The final "quick" was a doubly swift blow from an unexpected direction. A master of psychological warfare, Genghis Khan understood that men are most terrified by the unknown and unpredictable. The suddenness of his attacks made the speed of them doubly effective, leading to confusion and panic. *First, you prepare yourself before any action, scanning your enemy for weaknesses. Then you find a way to get your enemy to underestimate you, to lower their guard. When you strike unexpectedly, they will freeze up. When you hit again, it is from the side and out of nowhere. It

Whenever anything goes wrong, it is human nature to blame this person or that. Let other people engage in such stupidity, led around by their noses, seeing only what is immediately visible to the eye. You see things differently. When an action goes wrong - in business, in politics, in life- trace it back to the policy that inspired it in the first place. The goal was misguided. This means that you yourself are largely the agent of anything bad that happens to you. With more prudence, wiser politics, and greater vision, you could have avoided the danger. So when something goes wrong look deep into yourself - not in an emotional way, to blame yourself or indulge your feelings of guilt, but to make sure that you start your next campaign with a firmer step and greater vision.

The greatest danger you face in strategy is losing the initiative and finding yourself constantly reacting to what the other side does. The solution, of course, is to plan ahead but also to plan subtly- to take the indirect route. Preventing your opponent from seeing the purpose of your actions gives you an enormous advantage. So make your first move merely a setup, designed to extract a response from your opponent that opens him up to what comes next. Hit him directly and he reacts, taking a defensive pose that may allow him to parry your next blow; but if he can't see the point of your strike or if it misleads him as to where the next one will come from, he is defenseless and blind. The key is to maintain control of your emotions and plot your moves in advance, seeing the entire battlefield. In working on the level not of the battle but of the campaign, your first step is crucial. It should usually be deceptively soft and indirect, making it harder to read. War is never merely ab

In a society dominated by appearances, the real source of a problem is sometimes hard to grasp. To work out a grand strategy against an enemy, you have to know what motivates him or is the source of his power. Too many wars and battles drag on because neither side knows how to strike at the other's roots. As a grand strategist, you must expand your vision not only far and wide but under. Think hard, dig deep, do not take appearances for reality. Uncover the roots of the trouble and you can strategize to sever them, ending the war or problem with finality. A part of grand strategy related to severing the roots is seeing dangers as they start to spout, then cutting them down before they get too big to handle. A grand strategist knows the value of preemptive action.

Readiness is everything. Resolution is indissolubly bound up with caution. If an individual is careful and keeps his wits about him, he is watching at all times, even before danger is present, he is armed when danger approaches and need not be afraid. The superior man is on his guard against what is not yet within hearing; therefore, he dwells in the midst of difficulties as though they did not exist.....If reason triumphs, the passions withdraw of themselves. Widen your view, to take in more of the world around you, to see things for what they are and for how they may play out in the future, not for how you wish them to be.

You want a successful battle. To do this, you must seek momentum. Do not just demand a good fight from your people. You must pick good people and then give them momentum. You must create momentum. You create it with your team during battle. This is comparable to rolling trees and stones. Trees and stones roll because of the shape and weight. Offer your team safety and they will stay calm. Endanger them and they will act. Give them a place and they will hold. Round them up and they will march. You make your team powerful in battle with momentum. This should be like rolling round stones down over a high, steep cliff. Momentum is critical.

Win as easily as picking up a fallen hair. Don't use all your forces. See the time to move. Don't try to find something clever. Hear the clap of thunder. Don't try to find something clever. Victory goes to those who make winning easy. A good battle is one that you will obviously win. It doesn't take courage to achieve success. You must win you battles without effort. Avoid difficult struggles. You always win by preventing your defeat. You must engage only in winning battles. Never waste an opportunity to defeat your enemy. You win a war by first assuring yourself of victory. Only afterward do you look for a fight.

Victory comes from knowing when to attack and when to avoid battles. Victory comes from correctly using both large and small forces. Victory comes from sharing the same goals. Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems. Victory comes from having a capable commander and the government leaving him alone. You must know these 5 things. You then know the theory of victory. We say: Know yourself and know you enemy. You will be safe in every battle. You may know yourself but not know the enemy. You will then lose one battle for every one you win. You may not know yourself OR the enemy. You will then lose every battle.

It is a philosophy of deception. When your are ready, you try to appear incapacitated. When active, you pretend inactivity. When you ar close to the enemy, you appear distant. When far away, you pretend you are near. You can have an advantage and still entice an opponent. You can be disorganized and still be decisive. You can be ready and still be preparing. You can be strong and still avoid battle. You can be angry and still stop yourself. You can be humble yourself and still be confident. You can be relaxed and still be working. You can be close to an ally and still part ways. You can attack a place without planning to do so. You can leave a place without giving away your plan. You will find a place where you can win. You cannot first signal your intentions.

1. You must calculate many advantages, many advantages add up to victory; how can you know your advantages without analyzing them? 2. Avoid battle and make the enemy's men surrender, this is the right goal for a superior leader. A. You can do this fighting only minor battles, you can draw their men out of their cities, you can do it with small attacks; you must keep your campaign short. B. You must use total war, fighting with everything you have, never stop fighting when at war, you can gain complete advantage, to do this you must plan your strategy of attack. C. The rules for making war are: If you outnumber the enemy forces ten to one, surround them. If you outnumber them five to one, attack them. If you outnumber them two to one, divide them. If you are equal, then find an advantageous battle. If you are weaker, evade them. 3. Your first actions should deny victory to the enemy, you pay attention to your enemy to find the way to win, only your enemy can allow you to win, you ca

1. You must be able to sustain an enemy attack without being defeated. 2. You must force the enemy to move to your advantage. 3. You use surprise to win. 4. The best policy is to attack while the enemy is still planning. 5. Avoid battle and make the enemy's men surrender. This is done through your position, momentum, and planning.

PHYSICAL 1. Fight the battle in such a way that they cannot bring their strength or strategy into play. 2. Create such a level of frustration that they make mistakes in the process. 3. You do not give them enough time to do anything. 4. You play to their emotional weaknesses making them as irritable as possible. 5. You bait them into deadly traps. 6. The goal of your maneuver should make sense of your intentions only to yourself. 7. To send the enemy on a wild goose chase for meaningless information. 8. To create ambiguity as to which way you are going to jump. 9. By making everything burry, there is no deception to uncover. 10. They are simply lost in a mist of uncertainty, where truth and falsehood, good and bad, all merge into one. 11. It is impossible to get one's bearings straight. This is known as the "11" there is no defense. SPIRITUAL And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that, no matter what it is that we ask according to his will, he hears us. Furt

Wei Wu = the idea of action through inaction, of controlling a situation by not trying to control it, of ruling by abdicating rule. Wei Wu involves the belief that by reacting and fighting against circumstances, by constantly struggling in life, you actually move backward, creating more turbulence in your path and difficulties for yourself. Sometimes it is best to lie low to do nothing but let the winter pass. In such moments you can collect yourself and strengthen your identity. By disengaging completely and retreating you show great power and restraint. Your enemies are desperate for you to react, retreating infuriates and provokes them into further attack. So keep retreating, exchanging space for time. Stay calm and balanced, like the Germans lure them into a void of non-action. They will start to overextend themselves and make mistakes. Time is on your side for you are not wasting any of it in useless battles. War is a constant illustration of Murphy's Law, if anything ca

Robert Greene The 33 Strategies of War Lou Dobbs War on the Middle Class Max Boot War Made New Charles B. MacDonald Company Commander Niall Ferguson The War of the World General Rupert Smith The Utility of Force Sun Tzu's The Art of War Bible The First 5 (five) Chapters However, most people don't read.........................................

Risks: 1. Knowable 2. Unknowable Knowable therefore learnable Unknowable so difficult to prepare for. For the unknowable us a SCAMMPERR. S substitute something Switch materials, methods, people, machines, metrics. Change who, where, when, and what for every feature or resource. Try intangibles like assumptions, emotions and rules. C combine with something (else) Join, merge or group dissimilar objects or features. Use multiples or composite materials. Unite disjointed ideas or concepts. Meld with the problem or object itself. A adapt something Re-use ideas or methods already in use. Look for parallels in other fields, or in history, or even in nature. Copy experts or professionals. Review in different contexts. M modify something Change parameters, processes, use, features, limitations, direction, color, shape, names, rules. Place in new cultures and contexts. Try partial modification and change. M magnify, amplify, or add something Exaggerate. Increase in size or extent.

You hear of people going to war too quickly. Still, you won't see a skilled war that lasts a long time. You can fight a war for a long time OR you can make you nation strong. You can't do both. You want to make good use of war. Do not raise troops repeatedly. The nation impoverishes itself shipping to troops that are far away. Military forces consume a nation's wealth entirely. War leaves households in the former heart of the nation with nothing. War destroys hundreds of families. Out of every ten families, war leaves only seven. War empties the government's storehouses. War will consume 60 (sixty) percent of everything you have. A united nation is strong. A divided nation is weak. The nation must support you. Supporting the military makes the nation powerful. The military's position is made more difficult by politicians. Politicians don't understand the military's business.