Quote:
Originally Posted by jammies
Again, fair enough. I also think highly of other people that base their opinions on what I perceive to be rational thought and logic. I also prefer the adversarial style of debate, and I am sure that annoys many, many people.
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It's also highly unproductive and encourages entrenched thinking. I'm a lawyer, I engage in adversarial debate for a living, so I understand its virtues, and when I get lazy or just can't be bothered I slip into that mode on the internet, too. But on issues like the ones we've been discussing, it's a bad method. Essentially it results in people trying to win an argument for their pre-existing ideological perspective rather than trying to expand that perspective. It's far more productive to try to figure out what the truth is, than to try to convince others that you're right.
Epistemic humility trumps adversarial debate every time.