Error comments on The Hostile Arguer - LessWrong

32 Post author: Error 27 November 2014 12:30AM

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Comment author: 27chaos 27 November 2014 07:52:52AM 2 points [-]

ETA: Another possible heuristic: If the other party insists on attacking your position, but is unwilling to explicitly defend the one they want you to adopt against attack, that is probably also a bad sign.

By "explicitly defend", do you mean "specify"?

Here's another heuristic: if they criticize what you're saying, but don't provide any positive claims of their own when asked. It's much easier to attack an idea as flawed than it is to prove an alternative idea is better than it.

Comment author: Error 27 November 2014 04:05:27PM *  1 point [-]

It seems like this would cover Devil's Advocate cases too, though. I do that all the time with friends.

[ETA: usually involves political discussion, because I know people who have strong political opinions but I try to avoid having too many myself.]

Comment author: lmm 02 December 2014 08:09:52PM 0 points [-]

Sounds like it's not worth them spending time trying to convince you?

Comment author: ChristianKl 02 December 2014 10:01:58PM 0 points [-]

Sounds like it's not worth them spending time trying to convince you?

That assumes trying to convince is the only point of having a discussion.

Comment author: 27chaos 27 November 2014 08:56:59PM 0 points [-]

Just a heuristic, remember. I agree there are legitimate purposes for problem stating without problem solving, but problem solving almost always needs to be at least the implicit goal of an argument or it will go nowhere.

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