Often heard in political, theological, and other arguments is the line “That just doesn’t make sense.”
This insults the person making the argument – how foolish they must be to believe in something that doesn’t make sense. But this isn’t just an insult, not just an ad hominem attack.
It insults idea itself. Some ideas don’t make sense – but this is not shown by calling an idea stupid – it’s done by working through the argument with logic.
Usually an idea does make sense – at least from a certain perspective. If any thinking person has ever believed the argument, it made sense to them.
For example, anyone who says the idea of believing in God doesn’t make sense is judging some of the smartest minds in the history of the world. If brilliant minds believe it, it must make sense to them.
If you can’t understand how an idea could make sense to others, the first problem is with you, not the idea.
If you can’t understand how an idea makes sense to someone else, how can you ever think you could argue against that idea?
It pays to seek to understand before seeking to be understood.
