C.S. Lewis and Bulverism

Bulverism is the name Lewis invented to describe the method of assuming, without discussion, that someone is wrong and then distracting attention away from the issue by way of explaining how foolish this someone is. Lewis believed that you must show that someone is wrong before you start explaining why that someone is wrong. It is not the character attack of the fallacy Ad Hominem, but it is its cousin.

From my vantage point, I see Bulverism making a comeback in our country. Whether it be an attack against Christianity or an attack of a general with a pristine record, Bulverism is alive and well.

As Christians we must guard against Bulverism because we too are susceptible to its influence.

Lewis states that "until Bulverism is crushed, reason can play no effective part in human affairs." After all, if all of us reason, then why should one person's reason be deemed greater than another person's? To reason is to infere in some way no matter the subject. Lewis writes that "if our inferences do not give genuine insight into reality, then we can know nothing." In other words, by the very means that the world discredits the Christian, they too are discredited because they are, in essence, engaged in Bulverism! Is not C.S. Lewis right? Brilliant!