Eugine_Nier comments on 6 Tips for Productive Arguments - Less Wrong

30 Post author: John_Maxwell_IV 18 March 2012 09:02PM

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Comment author: Eugine_Nier 24 March 2012 08:34:55PM 2 points [-]

I think we all seem to be forgetting that the point of this article is to help us enage in more productive debates, in which two rational people who hold different beliefs on an issue come together and satisfy Aumann's Agreement Theorem- which is to say, at least one person becomes persuaded to hold a different position from the one they started with.

Also, make sure that position is closer to the truth. Don't forget that part.

Comment author: Vulture 24 March 2012 08:56:20PM 0 points [-]

And that's another important point: Trading recommended reading lists does nothing to sift out the truth. You can find a number of books xor articles espousing virtually any position, but part of the function of a rational argument is to present arguments that respond effectively to the other person's points. Anyone can just read books and devise brilliant refutations of the arguments therein; the real test is whether those brilliant refutations can withstand an intelligent, rational "opponent" who is willing and able to thoroughly deconstruct it from a perspective outside of your own mind.

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