Truth and Argument Part 1: The Private Sphere

I recently read a biography of John Adams. One thing I noticed was that Mr. Adams loved to argue and was convinced that argument was the best method of finding and convincing others of the truth. Of the founding fathers he was the most admirable to me because he had integrity, intelligence and many positions that seem reasonable even today.
And argument is indeed a great tool for finding truth – if we are the arguer. Argument forces us to clarify and state our positions. In doing so we can realize that they are not as solid as previously thought. Additionally argument exposes us to new information and new points of view. By incorporating these into our world view – or ultimately rejecting them as false our understanding increases.
Since argument is inherently a social activity we must consider the other people involved before using it for discovery. People deceive for a variety of reasons and we may be arguing with a deceiver or a deceived. For that reason argument should be avoided with individuals with greater knowledge or experience in that particular area except as part a complete program of learning and gaining knowledge in that area. The advantages of arguing yourself are that it makes you able to discern when people are ‘cheating’ in an argument. Straw man and ad hominem arguments are some examples of this.
Another thing to consider is that some arguments may be inherently more persuasive by their very nature independent of how true it is. For example our minds are drawn to compelling narratives. Our minds also like simplicity. A simple compelling narrative is difficult for us to resist. For a detailed exploration read this book about a theory of progressive history. (Oftentimes the truth is simpler yet the application is more complex and difficult such as epicycles versus elliptical orbits. Jungle of epicycles -> one simple equation, a new math and a need to account for all planetary bodies)
Those things that we want to be true comprise another category of intrinsically more persuasive arguments. Some of these are: arguments that make us seem more important; arguments that help us to be/feel part of an in-group; arguments that make us seem smarter; or excuse us from onerous duties that we would rather avoid. This fact is the basis of most advertising but is applicable to any discussion.
In short argument is a good method of learning truth. You have to know its limitations and pitfalls. And you have to consider that argument doesn’t create truth it is a secondhand source – and builds on it I suppose. Roughly this corresponds to verbal intelligence versus our ability to observe and create theories about our observations. Obviously these two need to be used together.