"Playing devils advocate" does annoy you doesn't it,....

[grahamg]

I may have mentioned this before, but when anyone "Plays devils advocate" when arguing with me, I start to feel I might as well being dealing with "the devil himself !

Your brain starts to meld doesn't it, and your blood pressure no doubt goes up a few notches, and for what, having someone essentially take the mickey out of you, and prove how clever they are. Sometimes you've paid them for the pleasure of being driven crazy, (like lawyers, who all seem adept at this kind of thing).

 

[spectratg]

Do you keep an open mind about their ideas? Do you consider that the other person might have a legitimate point of view?

 

[raybar]

If you are unable to counter what the devil's advocate says, then your own position probably needs some work.

 

[Sassycakes]

I keep an open mind and enjoy listening to other people's views on things.

 

[Paco Dennis]

It is important to be able to express yourself as freely as you wish, but those sound waves traveling into another person's mind meets with quite a different milieu. No two people agree on anything EXACTLY. Their point of view is different. Knowing this should give us some space to take our differences into consideration. I was just wondering if we are more prone to recognize our differences than our similarities.?

 

[helenbacque]

Playing devil's advocate is simply presenting a different point of view. A discussion without any will quickly become boring.

 

[Chet]

Playing devil's advocate is simply presenting a different point of view. A discussion without any will quickly become boring.

True. You are analyzing the issue from all sides and in the process dismissing arguments that don't stand up to scrutiny.

 

[grahamg]

Do you keep an open mind about their ideas? Do you consider that the other person might have a legitimate point of view?

You're right of course, but lawyers are trained aren't they, to almost defend the indefensible, so there are occasions when the point of view they're expressing they don't really believe themselves!

The case I'm thinking of, or can easily gives you where a so called "expert", chosen by said lawyer, managed to get my name, and another family member's name completely mixed up, even though the instruction he'd received from the lawyer were perfectly clear. Then to cap it all got the name of another professional wrong, having started his report using the right name. It obviously wasn't proof read properly, if at all, and my lawyer defended the guy, and I ended up paying the full bill for a report that was so poor, it was unusable garbage!

 

[Don M.]

Seeking others opinions is always valuable. No one is right 100% of the time, and only by considering All options can a person make the most correct choices.

 

[jujube]

I was the designated Devil's Advocate at my last job. They'd come up with a plan and then turn to me and say, "OK, now what can go wrong?" Somebody has to be prepared to pick up the pieces, y'know.....

I was happy when it didn't go wrong, but I was ready to go into action when it did. I saved a few rear ends along the way.

 

[grahamg]

Seeking others opinions is always valuable. No one is right 100% of the time, and only by considering All options can a person make the most correct choices.

Doesn't it "do your head in" if they're just playing a game with you though?

 

[grahamg]

If you are unable to counter what the devil's advocate says, then your own position probably needs some work.

Yes, but what if I'm not as big a "devil" as they are, or of course, less skilled in debating etc.?

Some folks use all this as a way of manipulating you, and as previously stated "taking the mickey", so you dont always need to waste your time do you.

 

[Don M.]

Doesn't it "do your head in" if they're just playing a game with you though?

Not really. I still recognize the difference between someone who is speaking from verifiable facts, as opposed to those who just open their mouths to blow nonsense. When I run into one of the "idiots" I just politely excuse myself and ignore them.

 

[spectratg]

You're right of course, but lawyers are trained aren't they, to almost defend the indefensible, so there are occasions when the point of view they're expressing they don't really believe themselves!

The case I'm thinking of, or can easily gives you where a so called "expert", chosen by said lawyer, managed to get my name, and another family member's name completely mixed up, even though the instruction he'd received from the lawyer were perfectly clear. Then to cap it all got the name of another professional wrong, having started his report using the right name. It obviously wasn't proof read properly, if at all, and my lawyer defended the guy, and I ended up paying the full bill for a report that was so poor, it was unusable garbage!

Bummer! Glad you explained your specific experience. I used two different lawyers (different law firms) in the last few years for various matters to do with my company and finally in selling it so that I could finally retire, and my experience was overwhelmingly positive.

 

[grahamg]

Bummer! Glad you explained your specific experience. I used two different lawyers (different law firms) in the last few years for various matters to do with my company and finally in selling it so that I could finally retire, and my experience was overwhelmingly positive.

Had a slightly better experience with my lawyers yesterday, (the first one, from five years ago), spoke to my current lawyer on zoom, and got on well, updated statements, and the like, so I'm pleased about that of course.
I still expect my current lawyer to play devils advocate at every opportunity, wearing me down in the process. A couple of days ago I felt like "I was having a proper funny turn", due to stress, but good chin wag with my old work mates sorted that fortunately, (though I'll mention it to the doc).

 

[Lee]

Graham, The case you describe with your lawyer does not sound like Devil's Advocate.....sounds more like a case of Legal Mismanagement Bungling....there you have a new term for it.

 

[grahamg]

Graham, The case you describe with your lawyer does not sound like Devil's Advocate.....sounds more like a case of Legal Mismanagement Bungling....there you have a new term for it.

It wasn't the fool of an expert though, (who wasn't fit to run a whelk stall in my view!), but the way my lawyer refused to condemn his report because if he had his own judgement in picking him could be questioned, (and the expert's bill contested I'd have thought).

Whether my lawyer is a bungler or "just warming up", (after eighteen months, though I've only met him once), but I still have some faith in his female boss, who has proved helpful so far, and it is a very big prestigious firm in Manchester, UK.

 

[WheatenLover]

This is why lawyers are often not fun people -- law school puts the end the that. When I was in law school, my friends and I used to bemoan that we no longer knew how to have fun.

What I hate are arguments that use logical fallacies to prop them up. The person doing that usually doesn't have a clue about logical fallacies, before or after I educate them.