Bulverism

In C.S. Lewis's "Bulverism," he approaches a topic that we all can relate to. As mentioned in class, we use it with both our friends and our foes. Bulverism is used in argument when you "assume your opponent is wrong, and then explain his error." In doing this, though, you are not looking to prove why your opponent is wrong; instead it is just assumed, a presupposed fact. There is something inherent about your opponent that makes them wrong, as shown when Lewis uses the example of  a young Ezekiel Bulver, who overhears his mother say to his father, "'Oh, you say that because you are a man,'" when in reality their argument has nothing to do with gender. Much of the problem of Bulverism arises from the fact that it involves looking at the person as opposed to the argument they are making. As a result, Bulverism is prevalent in politics, where people attack their opponents in order to win arguments and thus elections. Also, many controversial issues where both sides show intense passion, as in the debate over evolutionists and creationists, feature almost constant instances of Bulverism.
I think the fact that Lewis chooses to both address and identify this issue is very fascinating and relevant. Though written in 1941, the ideas in this piece are still found in our lives today. And while all of us have experienced Bulverism before, both as victim and culprit, we never previously had such a concise term by which to define it until Bulverism. It is also one of those things that is we do not think about conciously very often, but when it is brought to our attention (as in this piece), we realize it's negative effects on our lives and relationships. Because of this realization, we can now combat the problem due to our heightened awareness. I think the ways to combat that we discussed in class, such as having humility and accepting that we are all flawed and finite beings, can help eliminate Bulverism from our lives.
I think it is important when dealing with this issue to look at the argument itself as opposed to the person giving it. While it may be helpful to know the different characteristics of the person that may influence their argument, I think it often causes more trouble through possible Bulverism. I also think it is important to look at the other extreme, where one automatically assumes the argument of another is valid because of admiration for said person. Some of us in class expressed that we may be prone to run into this problem with C.S. Lewis himself. Given such a prolific writer, it is easy to assume his ideas are superior and always right. But it is important that we also think for ourselves and establish our own beliefs.