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Logic and Mr. Limbaugh: A Dittohead's Guide to Fallacious Reasoning

Logic and Mr. Limbaugh: A Dittohead's Guide to Fallacious Reasoning

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Swatting a Gadfly
Review: Professor Perkin's book is excellent for two main reasons. First, the beginning chapters are an easy to follow general introduction to the philosophy of logic for the average layperson (like moi). While it does not go very far in depth, the most useful and basic definitions of deductive and inductive arguments and their forms and fallacies are given. Second, in a calm and light mannered tone, it skewers what has always bothered me most about the Limbaugh phenomena: a desire on the part of his admirers (including himself), many in powerful political and media circles, to pass him off as an astute political thinker/critic, instead of what he is: a loud-mouth blabbing his opinions (which, of course, he has the perfect right to do). Perkins stresses that his book is not about saying Rush's opinions are incorrect, merely that the arguments and logic he uses to back up theses views are, to be charitable, sub-par. For an astute political thinker/critic Limbaugh's logical skills are poor and if you want to read examples of Rush playing fast and loose with the facts check out the book, "The Way Things Aren't". Limbaugh, like too many people on both sides of the political spectrum, is a shallow, lazy thinking reactionary. He isn't about embracing any political philosophy or ideology, merely a platform. That which is deemed in the media or public consciousness as "liberal", well, he's against it. Without listening to his program or reading either of his books, I can tell you his opinions on any major political or social issue, and no, I'm not psychic (It's easy, you try it!). Perkin's book is a great example of how Limbaugh (and yes, there are some on the left as well) is a master of what perhaps could be dubbed the anti-Socratic Method.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Don't Waste your time...
Review: Read thru most of this book at the Bookstore, I didn't bother wasting the money on it. The logic seemed OK, the refutation of Rush is not. I will admit that I am an avid Rush listener and Rush agrees with me on most everything, but when you have a radio show for three hours a day five days a week for ten years, it's pretty easy to go back and find small snippets to say what you want them to say. The other thing that the author neglects to mention is that Rush is also an entertainer, not everything he says is meant to be taken literally. Quite ironically the author doens't even use his own rules when he quotes Rush. He simply picks one line, doesn't give the context behind the line, and then proceeds to assume what Rush menat. The conclusions that he draws about what Rush meant do not even logically follow what Rush even said. I also wonder where he got these quotes from? Rush's shows are not publically archived to my knowedge, and like I said, with that much material over that long of a span, it's easy to quote out of context or even just make stuff up... Don't waste your money or your time on this one.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Poor rejection of Rush
Review: Rush Limbaugh's been proven to be wrong many times. This is not a book that does a good job of it though. The intro in which the laws of logic are explained was pretty interesting but overall it was drab, nitpicky and it even seemed illogical at times. Even Al Franken rejected Dittoism better than this.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Worth a Laugh
Review: Taken as a work of humor rather than the work of a serious logician, this book is worth a laugh or two. Perkins is right on the money when he points out Limbaugh's logical errors, but Limbaugh is just too easy a target to form the basis of a serious introduction to the subject of logic. I mean, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to recognize that Limbaugh's ad hominem statements are fallacious and lack intellecutal reasoning.

Hmm, but then given the lock-step mentality of Limbaugh's dittoheads, maybe it does take a rocket scientist.

Buy the book! Read it, enjoy it! You won't be sorry.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Fallacy within fallacy
Review: The author does a decent job of listing out and describing logical fallacies yet he does not follow his own word. The majority of his "analysis" of Rush Limbaugh's opinions and statements is written employing a major logical fallacy: that of Straw Man. The author has a tendency to take Limbaugh's statements and misinterpret them into weaker arguments with which he cites as examples of the logical fallacies. If you want to learn logic in theory and in practice this is not the book for, though the logic theories are acurate, the major logical fallacy of Straw Man is employed in the method the author goes about presenting and applying these logical fallacies.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Truth hurts!
Review: This book is an absolute MUST READ for anyone that prefers to think for themselves. Teaching elementary logic using the statements of Rush is brilliant! Not only does the reader review logic, but they also see how illogical Rush really can be.

Give this to anyone who takes Rush seriously, and enjoy them making such statements as "taken out of context" and "well, he's only an entertainer." Most dittoheads will refuse to read it- "liberal propaganda" they'll say. Then again, that's how Rush treats the truth as well.

A great read!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Truth hurts!
Review: This book is an absolute MUST READ for anyone that prefers to think for themselves. Teaching elementary logic using the statements of Rush is brilliant! Not only does the reader review logic, but they also see how illogical Rush really can be.

Give this to anyone who takes Rush seriously, and enjoy them making such statements as "taken out of context" and "well, he's only an entertainer." Most dittoheads will refuse to read it- "liberal propaganda" they'll say. Then again, that's how Rush treats the truth as well.

A great read!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: all dittoheads should read this book
Review: This book should be required reading for all students at some point in their education. Perkins, a Professor of Logic, provided an excellent and concise explanation of logical thinking by using examples of illogical statements drawn from several books by Rush Limbaugh.

Honest, logical, clear thinking is the only sure antidote I can think of to the distorted, hateful, polarizing rantings of people like Limbaugh.

Congratulations, Dr. Perkins!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fun and educating at the same time!
Review: This is one of those rare books which is fun and educating at the same time.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Repeatedly Distorts What Limbaugh Says
Review: Throughout this book, Perkins distorts Limbaugh's message, chiefly by attempting to convert Rush's direct statements into formal logical arguments, which they had never been intended to be. As an example, Perkins condemns Limbaugh for criticizing the Columbashers, stating that Limbaugh is reasoning falsely in stating that the non-innocence of AmerIndians denies the ostensible cruelties of Columbus and his followers. But Limbaugh said no such thing! Rush never said that Columbus did nothing wrong. Limbaugh merely was criticizing the view which falsely romanticizes American Indians as peaceful nature-lovers. So his point was that there were cruel, rapacious Indians just as there were cruel, rapacious Europeans, and it is therefore wrong for liberals to paint Columbus as particularly evil.


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