tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post3912043090419403049..comments2023-10-29T10:32:36.914-04:00Comments on Philosophy, et cetera: The End(s) of DiscussionRichard Y Chappellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-65839596803478765482008-07-29T21:30:00.000-04:002008-07-29T21:30:00.000-04:00One of the main reasons I engage is because I've n...One of the main reasons I engage is because I've noticed that perceptions of epistemic asymmetry are themselves symmetric. Everyone who argues with me seems to think that I'm their epistemic inferior...<BR/><BR/>So I engage in an attempt to find a criteria for breaking this symmetry. Unfortunately the only one I've found so far is the normal one: experiment. Which, naturally, require budgets.Alrenoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11119846531341190283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-62495075465319386812008-05-12T02:39:00.000-04:002008-05-12T02:39:00.000-04:00I tend to think that participating in a discussion...I tend to think that participating in a discussion is costless so long as the comments don't get too long. So, I usually give in to the internet correcting desire, regardless of the status of the other participant(s) unless it would require too much effort, i.e. lengthy argument/explanation and not an epistemic peer.Paul Gowderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12987034334075962676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-71018278263575810792008-05-11T23:21:00.000-04:002008-05-11T23:21:00.000-04:00Yeah, that's true.Yeah, that's true.Richard Y Chappellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-19410743588607588112008-05-11T23:14:00.000-04:002008-05-11T23:14:00.000-04:00I think a lot of our motivation to respond to peop...I think a lot of our motivation to respond to people who are wrong on the internet comes from desires other than helping them out. Many of us just have a noninstrumental desire to correct people who have said false things. (This desire often gets cultivated in academia.) <BR/><BR/>I can remember many discussions, including some in job interviews, when I probably shouldn't have let this desire determine my behavior.Neil Sinhababuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15672033745772751532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1693268128515686622008-05-11T17:28:00.000-04:002008-05-11T17:28:00.000-04:00In my experience the conversations that are the mo...In my experience the conversations that are the most wearing are not those with people who don't know what they're talking about, but with people whose priorites are so different from yours that what they regard as important you regard as unimportant and vice versa. Both sides go at each other, or at least one side goes at the other, with gusto on a point the other person considers to be a mere distraction from the main issue. After all, you are usually in a position of advantage with those who don't know what they're talking about (an advantage to both of you), but with the other kind you just start feeling harrassed (in some cases the other party is just being absurd or rude, but in others it's not really anybody's fault, just the result of being so different). <BR/><BR/>I think you may be onto something in the last part of your fourth paragraph, though; I'm mainly online to improve my understanding of various subjects, and this does affect what disputes I think worth getting into.Brandonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06698839146562734910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-19259789803754757252008-05-11T17:11:00.000-04:002008-05-11T17:11:00.000-04:00Oh, if anything I was thinking of recent discussio...Oh, if anything I was thinking of recent discussions I've had on other blogs. But in any case, it's not meant to be "aimed" at anyone. I'd rather float the general issue in the abstract.Richard Y Chappellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-25807571055079613912008-05-11T17:02:00.000-04:002008-05-11T17:02:00.000-04:00I assume this is aimed (at least in part) at me? I...I assume this is aimed (at least in part) at me? I'm guessing that some of the failure to communicate, which I take to be a charitable interpretation of not understanding the issue, rests on having vastly different philosophical backgrounds and concerns. I think this is a general problem for philosophy and possible an insurmountable one. Whatever.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-20441908897604583442008-05-11T16:35:00.000-04:002008-05-11T16:35:00.000-04:00"that they don't really understand the issue"This ..."that they don't really understand the issue"<BR/><BR/>This sounds like a communication issue. But what has not been communicated properly is the problem (or maybe the rules?).<BR/><BR/>If the goal is to locate an ideal set of rules to follow it is to a large extent a psychology and self knowledge issue, which may be beyond the scope of this blog.Geniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11624496692217466430noreply@blogger.com