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The Assault On Reason By Al Gore Summary

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America’s decision to invade Iraq in 2004 is now well regarded as one of the more unnecessary and tragic things the U.S. military has ever done. The rationale behind the invasion was that doing so would weaken al-Qaeda, the terrorist group behind 9/11. However, in reality,
Iraq had no connection to al-Qaeda. Then, how did the U.S. justify invading a country that posed no imminent danger to them? The answer is that they didn’t. The fact that the Twin Towers were just hit by al-Qaeda three years ago provoked a fear in the American people to the point where their judgment became clouded. In the first chapter of The Assault On Reason by Al Gore, Gore argues how fear has a direct impact on our judgment. He tries to prove that as a result of feeling fear, decisions cannot be made with a fully rational mindset. He does this by focusing on the dichotomy of fear and reason, and supports this focus by displaying examples of expertise in the area and by organizing his argument in a certain way.
In trying to prove that fear will affect reason negatively, Gore uses the concepts of fear and reason, focusing especially on the division between the two. His emphasis on fear being the almost polar opposite of reason is showed in the numerous philosophers he references in the beginning, starting with the Founders of the United States, saying that they “had a healthy respect for the threat fear poses to reason.” (23) He is saying that having fear will affect our capacity to reason in a negative

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