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Teach a man to fish
Internet Discussion 101: How to Argue Effectively 2016-01-17 21:52:19 Post No. 414181
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Internet Discussion 101: How to Argue Effectively 2016-01-17 21:52:19 Post No. 414181
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Internet Discussion 101: How to Argue Effectively
Teach a man to fish
2016-01-17 21:52:19
Post No. 414181
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Greetings, /qa/! As /qa/ has become the de facto "META" discussion board for 4chan, so let's have a meta discussion. In this thread I will outline some stereotypes and heuristics that I have acquired over my time spent on this website, listening, parsing, processing, and comparing the different ideas and thoughts on this website.
What this thread is: A discussion of how to discuss and think effectively on this website and other websites.
What this thread is not: A place to discuss any political leanings or opinions except for the nature of discourse and discussion. You may use examples, but you should not, reveal your own personal bias or opinion on the subject, lest this thread become like every other thread on /qa/ and the rest of 4chan at large.
If you find it difficult to avoid revealing your opinion, I invited you to please consider throwing up some sort of smoke screen like offering a countering opinion alongside it.
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With all of that out of the way, let's discuss the concept of arguing. Why do we argue? Personally, I argue because I want to attempt to arrive at the correct answer, be it my initial perspective, my opponent's, or some >"golden mean fallacy" answer between them. Others argue because they want to prove themselves and convince their opponent that their view is correct. This is not an invalid reason to argue. While it is egocentric to assume you are correct and your opponent is incorrect, it is not inherently immoral to be egocentric. If you have another reason to argue, please say it. I would love to learn more, just as much as I would like to teach.
As an exercise, please complete the form below.
>What is my goal when arguing?
___
>Have I been effective in the past at achieving this goal?
___
>Which aspects of my patterns and habits have been effective at achieving my goal?
___
>Which aspects of my patterns and habits have been ineffective at achieving my goal?
___
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>>414181
>What is my goal when arguing?
Understanding other people's opinions. I rarely change my opinion on most things (although there have been exceptions) but I like to at least understand where the opponent is coming from. My goal is also to make the opponent understand the same, although I sometimes try to convince him of my stance when I truly believe he's completely wrong.
>Have I been effective in the past at achieving this goal?
Depends on effective on what. If we're talking about reaching a mutual understanding, then yes. If we're talking about convincing the opponent, I'd say rarely although I've been getting better at it.
>Which aspects of my patterns and habits have been effective at achieving my goal?
Asking the opponent and making him question himself, and provide me with well thought answers. Some people call this the "Socratic method" I guess, I've noticed it works very well. When you act confrontational the arguments quickly gets emotional.
>Which aspects of my patterns and habits have been ineffective at achieving my goal?
Acting like an asshole. As I said above when you act confrontational the opponent feels attacked and the argument turns emotional and it turns into a fight over who wins rather than who's correct.
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Delete /pol/
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>>414200
Delete /a/ first
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>>414201
yeah, delete both.
Long life /tv/!
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