Episode 8: Equivocating and other ways to lose

Summary

When is a door not really a door? When it’s ajar! That old joke equivocates on two meanings of “ajar” In this episode we look at how equivocation can impact our reasoning, like when we ask, When is a doctor not really a doctor? We explore a few other ways that reasoning can go wrong and force us to lose in a debate. And listen until the end to hear what’s planned for Episode 9.

Sources:

Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips, The Nyaya-sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries, Hackett Publishing, 2017. https://www.hackettpublishing.com/new-forthcoming/the-nyaya-sutra

Much Ado About Religion adapted from the Csaba Dezsö translation in the Clay Sanskrit Library, New York: NYU Press, 2005. https://nyupress.org/9780814719794/much-ado-about-religion/

Definition of “doctor” from

Merriam-Webster Online

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-history-of-doctor

OED

“doctor, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, December 2020. Web. 20 December 2020.

Clips:

Good Morning America, December 15, 2020

“Women rally behind Jill Biden after WSJ op-ed asks her to drop ‘Dr.’”