--- title: How to argue: counter-arguments and respect — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «How to argue: counter-arguments and respect», a lesson of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: A strong thinker looks for the best reasons against their own view, called counter-arguments, and answers them: either --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Religion ethics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/) / How to argue: counter-arguments and re… # How to argue: counter-arguments and respect Lesson 40 of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school: 18 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/0/) — A strong thinker looks for the best reasons against their own view, called counter-arguments, and answers them: either by showing why they are weaker, or by changing their mind. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/1/) — Steel-manning means stating the other side's view in its strongest form before you reply; it is the opposite of making it sound silly, and it is fair to your opponent. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/2/) — Criticise the idea, never the person: "You only say that because you're a baby" answers nothing, because an attack on someone does not show their reasons are wrong. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/3/) — Listen to understand, sum up what you heard, look for common ground, keep a calm and polite tone, and accept that thoughtful people may still agree to disagree and stay friends. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/4/) — For a child today this is how to disagree without a fight, and for a Christian it fits James 1:19: "be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry"; olympiad judges reward exactly this. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/5/) — A counter-argument is a reason someone might give against your view. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/6/) — Strong thinkers look for the best objections to their own view, not the weakest. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/7/) — You can respond to an objection by showing why it is weaker, or by changing your view. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/8/) — Changing your mind for a good reason is a strength, and olympiad judges reward it. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/9/) — Steel-manning means stating the other side's view in its strongest form before replying. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/10/) — A "straw man" is the opposite: making the other view sound sillier than it is so it is easy to knock down. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/11/) — A personal attack criticises the person instead of the idea, and it does not answer their reasons. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/12/) — Active listening means listening to understand, not just waiting to speak, then summing up what you heard. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/13/) — Agreeing to disagree means accepting that thoughtful people can reach different conclusions. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/14/) — Disagreement does not have to end a friendship. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/15/) — Common ground is what both sides agree on; finding it first makes a discussion calmer. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/16/) — A respectful tone means speaking calmly, using names respectfully and thanking the other team. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/40-how-to-argue-counter-arguments-and-respect/17/) — The Bible says "be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" (James 1:19). - ← previous: [How to argue: reasons and evidence](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/39-how-to-argue-reasons-and-evidence/) - next →: [Dilemmas about truth and friendship](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/41-dilemmas-about-truth-and-friendship/) - ↑ back to [Religion ethics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/)