Comments | wisdomdancer: The lost art of argument

wisdomdancer

The lost art of argument

Aug 17, 2010 05:22

Occasionally it gets to me that not only do many people one argues with today not know how to argue well-logically, persuasively, and so forth-they do not even argue. They seem to have no idea that their claims could be found true or false, right or wrong, by a process. No, they are right and they are true, and fuck you. Some might say it nicely, ( Read more... )

Comments 6

The lost art of argument anonymous August 18 2010, 03:31:01 UTC

Participation is everything. "Postmodernism affirms that whatever we accept as truth and even the way we envision truth are dependent on the community in which we participate." "There is no absolute truth; rather, truth is relative to the community in which we participate." (Stanley Grenz, A Primer on Postmodernism). Truth, falsity, knowledge, the art of thinking, and logic itself are relative. Tutored mind and extended experience gain no advantages in such a scheme. Besides, it's much easier to be somebody that way. [FB]

Re: The lost art of argument wisdomdancer August 18 2010, 04:28:01 UTC

I wonder how much this is a consequence of a body of thought, and how much it's simply the result of education (in the total sense) going to absolute shit. Logic, knowledge, etc. must be taught, after all-ignorance and bias being the predominant state of an uncultured intellect left to withstand cultural corruption without its own standards for defense.

I'd agree with relativity, if it would adhere to contextual or consensual standards. :)

Re: The lost art of argument wisdomdancer August 18 2010, 04:32:08 UTC

You know the other thing that gets me? 9 times out of 10, when I raise a factual point I know to be accurate from my own research, which is quite possible for them to look up also, the person I'm arguing with prefers not to look it up themselves to see if I'm right. (Or if they do, they do not admit it.) They act like it's irrelevant that they have the option to LOOK IT UP. They prefer to blather as though facts were academic.

So yes, it's as though (emotionally invested) participation forges truth for them.

Re: The lost art of argument anonymous August 18 2010, 14:32:01 UTC

Yes. And this is absolutely maddening. It's the self-righteous push and in-your-face mood that's worst of all. Sometimes one can sense their uncertainty (since they are clinging to the twig of content at cliff's edge) and yet they continue to inveigh. Another metaphor for talking about this is a lack of a "deep self". Which would also go back to education in the larger sense. [FB]

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