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 that “Society 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 opponents’ statements 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 is “gives us a greater chance” to seek the truth

and not “we will definitely” find 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, it’ll turn his country democratic?

What the...

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

doesn’t stand for “once 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 can “aim at the target”

Before you come up with a result, “formulate a reliable theory” with 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