Bad arguments that make you smarter

Our life is filled with different types of bad arguments, also known as logical fallacies. Philosopher Henrik Schøneberg gives examples of logical fallacies that can help us better identify the shortcomings in our own and in other people’s arguments. This can help to improve our conversational skills and become better thinkers. Henrik touches upon the ancient Greek origin of the study of logical fallacies and draw parallels to our modern educational system and media landscape and the role they can play in taking our conversational skills to the next level. Exploring the possibilities and limitations of logical thinking the talk will reflect on what it even means to think well and how to navigate in a time of post-truth and social media.

Henrik Schoeneberg is a philosopher from Copenhagen, Denmark who specializes in the human mind and our ability to think and act well.

He regularly takes part in Cambridge Festival, with talks on topics such as individual consciousness, collective consciousness, artificial intelligence and why music moves us. Henrik has published articles in well-established and widely read magazines of ideas, such as Wired, New Humanist and Philosophy Now. His article ‘Bad Arguments That Make You Smarter’ on the topic of logical fallacies became one of the most widely read in Philosophy Now.

Additionally, Henrik is the founder of Thales Day – an annual celebration of the tradition of philosophy and science with an outset in its ancient Greek origin designed to strengthen critical thinking and stimulate intellectual debate.