

Arguments are Overrated - byrneseyeview
http://johncarney.tumblr.com/post/91071890/arguments-are-overrated

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grandalf
To me calling it an argument implies that there could be a winner. Arguing is
not just two people shouting their own opinion repeatedly, it's a reasoned
process of establishing a universe of discourse and then evaluating
propositions in that universe for validity and truth.

Anyone entering an argument should wish that one participant leave the
argument with his/her opinion changed. A rational participant would not be
biased about whether he or his opponent ought to be the one to change.

Arguably, the beneficiary is the one who _does_ change his/her opinion, since
he/she is the one who has gained rationality as a result of participating in
the argument.

I think the blog post mostly critiques bombast and verbal swagger. Nobody who
truly enjoys argument enjoys such things.

Much of human verbal communication uses what I'd call an _argumentative trope_
but does not actually constitute reasoned argument. I think the author of the
post confuses argument with argumentativeness.

~~~
DanielBMarkham
"Arguably, the beneficiary is the one who does change his/her opinion, since
he/she is the one who has gained rationality as a result of participating in
the argument."

This is a great comment about an awful post. Arguments are about the process
of finding self-bias. People see things on TV, or their only knowledge of
arguing is when they're a teenager and they have to "score points". They have
no idea what rational discourse is about.

There's a long history of reasoned debate being used, sometimes at length
(Lincoln-Douglas) to determine policy.

Most people are emotional thinkers and use rationality to justify, sure. But
that's all the more reason to engage in debate with your fellow man: it takes
somebody else to untangle the mess you've made out of your reasoning. If we
all just throw our hands up and say that debate is pointless, we're giving up
our one chance of changing our programming and working and thinking in a truly
free manner.

~~~
grandalf
extremely well said!

