Asklemmy

If you are in a debate and you want to nudge someone towards your opinion, or at least away from theirs, without triggering the typical emotional defence behaviour which ruins rational discussions, calmly ask objective questions which point towards problems in the arguments of your partner.

From my experience, I found this certainly helps to keep discussions civil and make people think rather than just judge emotionally, even though this is not a one-fits-all tool.

(A) Such questions can be used to inquire about the reasons for a statement or opinion, which can provide you with a broader argumentative "attack surface" and might weaken your discussion partner when they discover that their point of view is not as sound and good as they thought it to be.

This basically boils down to principles of epistemology. "How do you know?"

(B) Another use is to include facts or opinions in such questions which counter the argument of your partner and let them re-evaluate it.

Two simple examples:

• "Why do you think that wolves are dangerous for humans?" (A)
• "How does this fit with research which shows that wolves avoid humans and don't see them as prey?" (B)

That way you don't necessarily present yourself as an opponent, since your own opinion is not directly verbalized. Instead you hop into a more neutral role, where you ask genuine questions and show interest in the other person's point of view. Combatative counter arguments are rephrased and hidden that way without the other person realizing it.