Chapter 87 <Wang Gu talks about him>

The history book "Mencius."On King Hui of Liang" records a conversation between Mencius and King Xuan of Qi. Mencius said to King Xuan: Suppose a minister of yours wants to go to Chu State and entrusts his wife and children to a friend before leaving, but when he returns from Chu State, he finds his wife and children are freezing and starving. .How to deal with such a friend? King Xuan of Qi replied very happily: Break up with him! Mencius asked again: If the chief in charge of punishment cannot manage his subordinates, what should he do? King Xuan of Qi replied very simply: Dismiss him as an official!

Mencius asked again: If a monarch manages the country in a mess and the people cannot live and work in peace, what should we do? At this time, King Xuan of Qi was not so happy and straightforward, but Wang Gu talked about him from left to right, that is, he first looked left and right, and then talked about other things. In this story, King Xuan of Qi paid no attention to Mencius' first two questions, so he answered them directly.When Mencius asked the last question, he realized that it was directed at him.How should he answer? According to King Qi Xuan's answer to the first two questions, the logical answer can only be: such a monarch should be deposed, but this is unacceptable to him.So, he avoided answering the last question, and changed the topic halfway to talk about other things.From a logical point of view, King Xuan of Qi deliberately played with sophistry to divert the topic.

In our daily life, when some people are discussing a certain issue, they find that it will be bad for them if they continue to go deeper, so they try to divert the topic to get out of the predicament they may fall into. For example, instead of answering whether other people's criticisms are correct, they blame the other party for their bad attitude.The best way to deal with this kind of sophistry is to firmly hold on to the original question and never follow the fork set by the other party. To avoid answering other people's questions, to come to Wang Gu left and right to talk about him, is a sophistry technique to change the topic; although you have answered, but deliberately answering the wrong question is also a sophistry technique.

For example: A asks: How long do I need to wait? B: If you are impatient, don't wait. B did not answer A's question, but answered a different question: If you are impatient, should you wait?This violates the rules of argument and makes the mistake of shifting the topic.