"Would people" or "Would someone" phrase... in debates

[PoetPhilosopher]

I've noticed a lot of debates, including mine, have components which change the meaning. Those components are phrases like "Would people", "Would someone", or "Would it cause someone to..."

While a lot of debates end up being about the claim itself, and whether the claim itself is logical or not logical, it misses the point of what people would do. And what people would do, or what would change someone's mind, is often very different than what may be considered "most logical".

For example, if you enter a social group, a lot of people may believe in astrology. Even some people on the fence about it, may still talk about it to make small talk and get along.

But this says nothing about whether astrology is logical, or valid.

 

[anna.]

I've noticed a lot of debates, including mine, have components which change the meaning. Those components are phrases like "Would people", "Would someone", or "Would it cause someone to..."

While a lot of debates end up being about the claim itself, and whether the claim itself is logical or not logical, it misses the point of what people would do. And what people would do, or what would change someone's mind, is often very different than what may be considered "most logical".

For example, if you enter a social group, a lot of people may believe in astrology. Even some people on the fence about it, may still talk about it to make small talk and get along.

But this says nothing about whether astrology is logical, or valid.

I learned a long time ago, in the early years of online debate, to avoid the phrase "I feel..." or "I feel that..." because those are the words some adversarial types would pounce on, who'd say "it's not about your feelings, it's about facts," or logic, or whatever. I realized separately, in university, that when I was writing I'd delete those words as being unnecessary. Maybe some of us forget about the person because we've been trained not to make things ad hominem, and to hone on on the point. But there are also plenty who are interested in the person, why and how that person thinks, what people do... but maybe that comes out more in the fun threads, the less contentious ones, where there's humor, and empathy. I'm glad we have those threads to counterbalance the threads where we aim at the claim, the claim, the claim.

Thanks for your post, it's made me ponder again about the real people behind the screen names.

 

[Secret Chief]

My philosophical position is meh. But it's not about me, it's about logic.