Critical thinking
This topic shows you how to think critically, find hidden contexts and read between the lines
What is manipulation?
Monty Python
Guys from Monty Python used artistic language to point at the fact, we use fallacies in our communication quite commonly, at home, at work or at school, it is also a part of media and political discourse.
Manipulation is the way of communication which aim is to change the perception or behaviour of somebody else. Manipulators use various logical fallacies, they omit parts of information, choose only certain information (cherry-pick), compare what is impossible to compare or distract attention by something else.
To do so, people use manipulative techniques. They are arguments, statements or expressions, which at the first sight seem to be reasoned and logical, but they are not, they serve just to create a picture of an argument in the receiver’s mind, picture which supports somebody’s interests. They can be used both, consciously or unconsciously.
They use three basic strategies:
- Playing with language (word ambiguity)
- Appealing to emotions
- Effort to distract attention from important