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Yvain comments on The Rebuttal Repository - Less Wrong Discussion
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Comments (59)
I like this idea, but dislike inflation of the word "debunking".
Debunking means something was bunk and has now been conclusively proven wrong .Homeopathy has been debunked, creationism has been debunked, ESP has been debunked.
But when people say things like "Haven't you heard Searle debunked materialism?" or "Here's a link to an argument debunking Obamacare" it seems kind of like epistemological arrogance. It's not just "I disagree with you", but "There is no other side to this, it is now disproven in the same sense creationism is disproven and we can all go home."
I sort of accept the Myers-Briggs link as a debunking, because that fits the central category of "supposedly scientific theory that in fact has very poor support". The others seem more like controversial philosophical or political arguments. They're all really good controversial philosophical/political arguments I agree with, but I bet by the time this list reaches twenty entries some of them won't be.
I admit I don't have a better phrase. "Skeptical Argument Repository"?
Good points. It is now the "Responses Repository".
I agree with the above comment that use of the term debunking seems objectionable on "epistemological arrogance" grounds, but 'response' seems a bit too weak. 'Response' doesn't really capture the connotation that the responses given are taken to provide grounds for the position criticized as being less plausible. There may be a better term, and the choice of terminology in this germinal stage of concocting some type of terminology for this sort of thing might be important enough to consider this further.
I can't really think of anything. Do you have a suggestion?
In rough order of how much I like them:
Rebuttal, counterargument, dissent, refutation, criticism, negation, retort, rejoinder, rejection
Thesauruses are awesome.
Presto, we're now "The Rebuttal Repository".
But, realistically, right now all we are is a repository of ideas for naming this repository...
Sorry to be less helpful...if one had occurred to me right away, I'd mention it. Surprisingly, one's not coming to me, either. I like the connotations associated with demystifying, and 'rebuttal' doesn't seem terrible, as it has the connotation of an explicit criticism of some claim or other, without quite so strong a connotation as 'debunk'. However, it's close enough that I think it may fall onto the other side back into the epistemological arrogance category. Maybe refutation? Unfortunately I think introspection fails me on how adequate these terms are since the connotation I take them to have may differ from how others take them - more feedback from others might be more helpful than whatever my own conclusions might be. Response seems sufficient for now at least.
"Devastating Counterargument Repository"?
Don't worry. I predict that this repository (and some of the other ones) will be largely left unused.