Philosophy
Last Friday, the post was a meditation on race, looking at the loss of Dr. King and the changes that have occurred since. We had a horrible comment leading off the discussion and the responses were harsh.
I stepped in to stop the ad hominems and Kerry's response was that sometimes, that's the appropriate response. Reason is fine if the other side disagrees with you and is willing to be reasonable, but if they opt out of civil rational discourse, the rules no longer apply. If you have a bully, the line goes, they don't deserve the same courtesy you offer to those with whom you have a rational disagreement. the only appropriate response is STFU.
Is this the case? Or have you allowed them to bring the whole discourse down into the gutter with them? Is it better to show "intellectual class" even if it won't affect the bully, if for no other reason, for the sake of the forum? When do you silence people or should the conversation be left completely open to even the least well-thought out, over-the-line, anti-rational sentiments? At what point are you prizing tolerance to the point where it endangers tolerance?
- Rush Limbaugh, Straw Meets Camel
So, I'm wondering why Rush Limbaugh is getting so much flack for his comments about Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke. Don't get me wrong, I think he deserves it, but I'm baffled as to why he is actually getting what he deserves. ...
- Modus Tonens And The Psychological/rational Tension
There's a wonderful article in the forthcoming edition of Argumentation by our friend Bob Talisse -- he of the weakman arguments. Talisse, along with Scott Aikin, look at the rhetorical use of repeating someone's words back to them with an incredulous...
- On Voltaire And Dick Armey
On this, Voltaire's birthday, let me ask again... Is it still attacking a strawman if the other side insists on making themselves into strawmen? Friday on All Things Considered, prominent Republicans were asked about the path forward after the thumping...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
Since my discussion of libertarianism has been getting some attention from the folks who have ventured over from Pharyngula, here's the companion piece about the problems with ethical subjectivism. There is also a nice post on a similar issue at Philosophy,...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
When I teach ethics, the most common view in the room is Ethical Subjectivism, that moral judgments are purely a matter of personal decision. Everyone has his or her own ethical system and the fact that you consider an act morally right means that, for...
Philosophy
The Limits of Rational Discourse: When Do You Shut Someone Up?
Last Friday, the post was a meditation on race, looking at the loss of Dr. King and the changes that have occurred since. We had a horrible comment leading off the discussion and the responses were harsh.
I stepped in to stop the ad hominems and Kerry's response was that sometimes, that's the appropriate response. Reason is fine if the other side disagrees with you and is willing to be reasonable, but if they opt out of civil rational discourse, the rules no longer apply. If you have a bully, the line goes, they don't deserve the same courtesy you offer to those with whom you have a rational disagreement. the only appropriate response is STFU.
Is this the case? Or have you allowed them to bring the whole discourse down into the gutter with them? Is it better to show "intellectual class" even if it won't affect the bully, if for no other reason, for the sake of the forum? When do you silence people or should the conversation be left completely open to even the least well-thought out, over-the-line, anti-rational sentiments? At what point are you prizing tolerance to the point where it endangers tolerance?
- Rush Limbaugh, Straw Meets Camel
So, I'm wondering why Rush Limbaugh is getting so much flack for his comments about Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke. Don't get me wrong, I think he deserves it, but I'm baffled as to why he is actually getting what he deserves. ...
- Modus Tonens And The Psychological/rational Tension
There's a wonderful article in the forthcoming edition of Argumentation by our friend Bob Talisse -- he of the weakman arguments. Talisse, along with Scott Aikin, look at the rhetorical use of repeating someone's words back to them with an incredulous...
- On Voltaire And Dick Armey
On this, Voltaire's birthday, let me ask again... Is it still attacking a strawman if the other side insists on making themselves into strawmen? Friday on All Things Considered, prominent Republicans were asked about the path forward after the thumping...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
Since my discussion of libertarianism has been getting some attention from the folks who have ventured over from Pharyngula, here's the companion piece about the problems with ethical subjectivism. There is also a nice post on a similar issue at Philosophy,...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
When I teach ethics, the most common view in the room is Ethical Subjectivism, that moral judgments are purely a matter of personal decision. Everyone has his or her own ethical system and the fact that you consider an act morally right means that, for...