Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Evening, evening, good evening

  • I am Kris from P. P. C. C.

  • Today we are making passion fruit jello

  • First, cut the passion fruit in half and spoon the pulp into a bowl

  • Put a few gelatin sheets into cold water in advance

  • Prepare a pot of water, put it on low heat for about 30 seconds

  • then add in some caster sugar and passion fruit pulp and stir until well combined

  • The levels of sweetness can be adjusted according to your taste

  • Now, add the softened gelatin into the pot and stir until it melts completely

  • You can decide how soft you want it to be

  • Do NOT play with food.”

  • After it’s cooled, put it into the fridge for about two hours

  • While waiting, let’s talk about reductio ad absurdum

  • reductio ad absurdum is a common form of argument

  • which seeks to demonstrate that a statement is true

  • by showing that a false, untenable, or absurd result follows from its denial or vise versa

  • In fact, we use reductio ad absurdum a lot in our daily life, for example

  • John went out without finishing his homework

  • His mom asked him why

  • John said, “Because Mary asked me to.”

  • So his mom said angrily, “If Mary told you to jump off the cliff, would you?”

  • Here’s another example

  • Group A thinks thatSociety should embrace variety, so we should support same-sex marriage.”

  • Group B argued, “If one can marry whoever he/she desires, then being married to animals should be allowed!”

  • The two example both use reductio ad absurdum

  • Opposers argued by pointed out that if their opponentsstatements were true,

  • a false, untenable, or absurd result will follow from its denial

  • But as you can see

  • some results of reductio ad absurdum can be unreasonable

  • A false usage of reductio ad absurdum can be a barrier of communication

  • not to mention you are trying to convince someone who holds a different opinion

  • Abuse reductio ad absurdum would make you look foolish

  • So, how can we use reductio ad absurdum properly?

  • Let’s welcome our guest

  • who is the king of foolishness

  • to explain it for us

  • It’d probably take more than two hours for Mr. Fung to finish his talk

  • Let me simply demonstrate the three crucial points of reductio ad absurdum

  • The right way to use reductio ad absurdum

  • First, aim your target!

  • Freedom of speech gives us a greater chance to seek the truth.

  • We already have freedom of speech, are you saying we already found the truth?

  • That’s why I said, “A greater chance...”

  • In this case, what A said isgives us a greater chanceto seek the truth

  • and notwe will definitelyfind the truth, so B's argument missed the target

  • When using reductio ad absurdum, if you misunderstand one’s proposition

  • your argument will miss the target without a doubt

  • Second, formulate a reliable theory

  • People in a democratic society hold freedom of speech.

  • Do you mean that if a dictator allows free speech, itll turn his country democratic?

  • What the...

  • In this example, A’s statement ofPeople in a democratic society hold freedom of speech.”

  • doesn’t stand foronce freedom of speech is given, a country turns democratic

  • So we can see that the logic of B’s argument doesn’t really make sense

  • When you understand one’s proposition, your argument must go by logic as well

  • or the discussion would have difficulties continuing

  • Third, you must come up with an absurd or fact-rejecting result

  • I fully support freedom of speech.

  • Really huh? Doesn’t your statement approve of swearing?

  • And the problem is…?

  • In this case, B thinks that swearing is serious, but A doesn’t

  • Since it’s a use of reductio ad absurdum, the result has to be absurd

  • However, if you point out a result of one’s statement which he/she doesn’t think it’s absurd

  • Don’t you think there is no use arguing anymore?

  • Reductio ad absurdum is a way of communication, it may be helpful or it may go wrong

  • But if we follow the three crucial points, communication may run more smoothly

  • So, let’s conclude the three points to keep in mind when using reductio ad absurdum

  • Fully understand the opposer’s proposition without misinterpretations so that you canaim at the target

  • Before you come up with a result, “formulate a reliable theorywith a right, reasonable logic path, or the opposer would question your theory.

  • Watch out for different opinions on the result you give, you may think it is absurd while one may not.

  • So, “the result which you come up with has to be absurd and doesn’t reflect the fact.”

  • With the three steps of reductio ad absurdum, no matter which step goes wrong,

  • They will all point out the crux of the argument from both sides

  • Through inspecting each step of using reductio ad absurdum

  • we can find the misunderstandings of a communication

  • and we can reflect on ourselves to see what needs to be improved

  • homework

  • Can you find an example of reductio ad absurdum in your daily life?

  • Is it reasonable? Why/Why not?

  • Many people still use reductio ad absurdum as a way of insulting people

  • but if we use reductio ad absurdum properly, it’s really a good way to improve communication and discussions

  • Okay, the passion fruit jello is now ready to serve

  • Doesn’t it have to be in the fridge for two hours?

  • Please don’t pick on those tiny details.

  • You can have it all, just let me talk.

  • Oh.

  • Okay, there’s still something I want to add...

  • If you want to hear what Mr. Fung have to said, check out facebook.com/taiwanbarstudio

Evening, evening, good evening

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it