Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Art of the Argument

  • Western Civilization's Last Stand
  • By: Stefan Molyneux
  • Narrated by: Stefan Molyneux
  • Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (131 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Art of the Argument cover art

The Art of the Argument

By: Stefan Molyneux
Narrated by: Stefan Molyneux
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Tools of Argument: How the Best Lawyers Think, Argue, and Win cover art
Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts That Support It cover art
Right & Wrong cover art
The Moral Sense cover art
Uncomfortable Ideas cover art
Political Philosophy cover art
The Madness of Crowds cover art
Philosophy cover art
The Righteous Mind cover art
The Art of War cover art
Political Correctness Does More Harm than Good cover art
The Voice of Reason cover art
Intellectuals and Society cover art
Thinking of Answers cover art
Hegemony or Survival cover art
Fooled by Randomness cover art

Summary

The Art of the Argument shocks the dying art of rational debate back to life, giving you the essential tools you need to fight the escalating sophistry, falsehoods, and vicious personal attacks that have displaced intelligent conversations throughout the world. At a time when we need reasonable and empirical discussions more desperately than ever, The Art of the Argument smashes through the brain-eating fogs of sophistry and mental manipulation, illuminating a path to benevolent power for all who wish to take it.

Civilization is defined by our willingness and ability to use words instead of fists - in the absence of reason, violence rules. The Art of the Argument gives you the intellectual ammunition - in one concentrated, entertaining and powerful package - to engage in truly productive, civilization-saving debates. Armed with this book, you will be empowered to speak truth to power, illuminate ignorance, shatter delusions, and expose the dangerous sophists within your own life, and around the world.

©2017 Stefan Molyneux (P)2017 Stefan Molyneux

What listeners say about The Art of the Argument

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    91
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    11
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    85
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    5
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    84
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    14

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Very shallow with few wise points to say only

The author has some intellectual investment and he has a few good arguments which I cannot deny their common sense value. However, overall this book is full of shallow information and it seriously lacks an academic depth. It rhetorically appeals to feelings of layman. This is not necessarily a bad thing but the book markets itself with higher expectations. Besides, its title is misleading and extremely overrates the value of the book.The author starts with demeaning all academic knowledge on argumentation but then engage himself with them in a very primitive way to support his cases. I do not claim that the book is devoid of any meaningful points. However, the book's points can easily be captured in half an hour. It does not say much about argumentation per se. Rather, the book emphasises the value of argumentation as a means of proper political discussions, which are then used to promote liberalism as if all against liberalism were sophists. I am open to all political ideas and I wish to hear their merits and weaknesses. I had known beforehand that the author has political biases but the lack of depth of his arguments frustrated and bored me. I definitely do not recommend this book to anyone who wants to read intellectually engaging material. I was misled by many high ratings given to this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Point perfect in The Argument

This is a fabulous read/listen for anyone who sees irrationality all around them, though when they point it out, is hounded by the utterly irrational sophist that hangs like a dark cloud over ever rational debate.

This book helps us to understand The Argument, to understand the rain of sophistry that eventually comes down on a reasonable debate when an opponant can't refute an uncomfortable truth. It helps us understand their vicious irrational, incapable acceptence of truth, and it teaches us how to deal with these lost souls.

Not only are we taught to understand The argument, but dotted throughout is a plethora of social issues that cause debate and the eventual encounter of sophistry, but I found it helped me understand these social issues further myself.

If you want to fight for truth, to rid the world of the continued brainwashing and purposeful dumbing down of future generations, the driving out of their ability to think for themselves, read this book, then pass it on. Not just physically, but pass on Molyeux's exceptional wisdom in ever day life by telling others, by not being afraid to fight for truth.

I'd recommend this to anyone who's not only into philosophy, but anyone who believes the lies are getting to much, lies that are lately beginning to overshadow the truth. We need brave people to spread this wisdom, regardless how much resistance you encounter.

The Art of the Argument could be one of the most important books of our time. Five stars from me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

beware

Disappointingly partisan, falling foul to many logical errors it warns against. Still some good points if you can stomach the relentless inconsistencies.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not what I was expecting.

Not what was sold in the description. One of my least favourite books. For a philosopher it almost felt like his views were being forced on me, with opinions being quickly and almost unnoticeably passed off as facts. I almost feel that the author was looking down on me and a lot of other people. Too politically linked for me, and although I didn't disagree with everything I feel the writing drifted from the title of the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Specious rubbish.

Advertises itself as an objective lesson in the subtle art of argumentation. Sadly the author defrauds the earnest pursuer of unslanted learning by delivering a series of lectures on the merits of anarcho-capitalism. If you hate single mothers, immigrants, alcoholics, the disabled and the progressive achievements of non Judeo-Christian peoples - well, then this is a book for you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

A wonderful insomnia cure

I admit that I only lasted three chapters but this wins the most boring book of the year award. it is probably a very good book to read but as an audible book it is dull.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

If you have a brain, you need this

Fantastic and well explained. Stefan is one of the greatest thinkers of our time. Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic. Important message for mankind.

The question is: do you want mankind to progress or not. This book will can provide relief of human suffering. The sharks are still in the water, but this book will help you spot them and warn others not to get eaten by them.
www.freedomainradio.com
Det er en fantastisk bog.
Allan Nygaard Jensen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Lacking substance and disturbingly arrogant

Although I disagree with the author's politics, I knew that when I bought the book. That isn't the problem. I think everybody should read material written by those whose opinions differ from their own - if they don't, there's no opportunity to exchange and debate ideas, or to persuade people to change their views. You can't have confidence in your own views if you haven't tested them or allowed others to challenge them. I'm willing to give a high rating to a book by an author I disagree with if it's well written.

The problem with this book is that it claims to be a manual setting out techniques of debate and rhetoric, when in fact there's really not much to it. What it really consists of is an opinionated rant, written in a weirdly unpleasant and arrogant tone. The author uses examples of supposed sophistry (many of which are flawed) purely to express his political opinions and to make quite childish and often ad hominem digs at those with differing opinions. If he were really interested in analysing debating techniques, he would include (better) examples of effective arguments contrary, or unrelated, to his own political views.

There's something else about his style which grates. At times, he sounds like he's giving a speech at a political rally, knowingly and cynically pushing certain buttons to whip up popular support. It's fundamentally condescending. I suspect this book, along with his podcasts, is largely aimed at a young and impressionable audience looking for guidance and direction, and he knows what he needs to do to appeal to them. In that sense, it isn't really an "argument" at all, but rather a piece of propaganda. He is, in fact, the sophist all along.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Something to ponder...

The density of the content is so high that listening to it once is not enough. As someone who listened to the author's shows for years, none of it was new to me. :)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!