How to Argue the Hind Leg off a Donkey

“Begone, hind leg!   Avaunt -- Begone!”

And lo -- A three-legged donkey.

[Appendix]  As an illustration of the powerful eristic method, we present the following model case, for classroom use.

Resolved:  That the Penguin is the King of Beasts.

Proof:  We have previously argued that the penguin is the veritable King of Beasts;  and have buttressed this thesis  with abundant proofs.

The objections to this doctrine  are each fallacious in a particular way;  they  fall into three classes.

(1)  The first class.

(2)  The second class.

(3)  The third class.

This completes our survey of the three classes. ∎

[Note to students:  Whenever you see that “∎”, known as the Halmos symbol, you’re done.  Further discussion is fruitless.]

And for anyone too thick-witted to appreciate the cogency of this, here is ocular proof:

King Penguin, with minion

 

 ∎ (Anglicè: ‘so there’.)