elte
Valued Senior Member
Elte,
First, I'd like to point out that clarity of communication very often only comes from a back and forth to sort out what exactly is meant. No one should assume perfection, and that is precisely why presentation is not as practical as argument or debate. No one can present any idea completely free of misunderstanding, and this requires a presented idea to be challenged and tested as to its meaning and veracity. If the idea doesn't warrant being defended or clarified then it probably doesn't warrant being shared. Now if you only wish to express some belief, it would probably be wise to preface it as such.
Syne, I agree with that, that the back and forth can refine ideas. Unfortunately often times the process deteriorates into a simple contest of wills where the aggressive personality stifles the other perspective (no implication about you intended). In those cases, the goal becomes beating the other party rather than advancing knowledge.
Your claim that you wished to avoid argument while making one was, in fact, disingenuous. I'm sorry if you took it that I meant you were being intentionally disingenuous, but the claim, itself, was demonstrably so.
I appreciate that modifier of unintentional. Yet, I don't see how that fits with my truly disliking to argue. I do like to be agreed with, I just don't enjoy arguing or debating. One reason I appeared to be doing so poor a job was that I wasn't enjoying it and wasn't putting forth much effort. It wasn't holding my attention. But I can say one thing that might mean something. Several years ago I did like it at least some, and that was on another forum where there were more opposing views. However, I lost my enjoyment of the strife from the arguing and began to hang out here where hardly ever anyone would challenge my posts. I can still read and get new ideas to consider and throw out a few of my own now and again.
The use of any idea to society can only be ascertained by a test of that idea, which is accomplished by challenge and comparison. It is true that cooperation is necessary for a society, but this is not true of advancing knowledge or making use of ideas. Where you may see conflict, I simply see practicality.
I think we agree that is not always a bad thing. For example, we might consider the case of writer who is much less expert or interesting than he/she thinks.
On the other hand, the pushiest personalities tend to get more exposure than they often deserve. Other times self-interest prevents the discovers of knowledge from even wanting to share the information. Cooperation would reduce those drawbacks and allow the prior information learned to become available to other people who then work to advance the knowledge further. Often times people discovering new things can't obtain the cooperation they need to even share the knowledge.
If you think that your ideas warrant defending then you really are not justified in complaining about having them challenged. All ideas stand or fall on their own merit. If you cannot make the case for that merit, you are probably better not defending it.
I agree. It is problematic for me that I want to share my ideas even though I don't like dealing with challenges.
And it really should go without saying that rhetorical questions are not obvious in writing.
Let's just disagree on that.
Believe me, if only reasoned discussion was offered, I would have happily constrained myself to it. When emotional or subjective arguments are made, they require being pointed out so that a reasoned discussion can continue without the fallacy that such arguments have primacy over reason. They do not, and sometimes that fact requires being driven home.
Maybe you took my lack of focus as an emotional argument. I don't put much weight on them either.
When my argument is that the existence of freewill (choice, freedom, etc.) is what allows for misfortune, I fail to see how that can be considered idealized.
I agree with that. I think my lack of focus showed most there. I should have mentioned my problem with freewill lies elsewhere. That case is when it gets divine, almost magical implications attached to it, implications that override the costs, like the one you mention, that go with choices. That supernatural way of believing in freewill might involve the notion of heavenly reward, or the notion that the chooser will be divinely protected from physical injury, for example.
Thank you. It is extremely rare that this is noticed for what it is.
You're welcome.