20 March 2007

Aporia II*

One thing that is common in the world of bloggers is the staking out of positions, which I suppose is also true in other areas of life. All the same, bloggers seem more wedded to their positions than people in their everyday lives are. Or at least more willing to voice such. Thus, they often adopt positions with so much passion that they are certain that their answer is "the" answer.

Yet I think that it is fair say that people shouldn't be so sure of themselves, especially when it comes to complex concepts like consent or justice. Indeed, these sort of problems seem to be plagued by aporia. Of course that particular bit of unsubstantiated certitude can also be questioned. :)

*Edited for clarity.
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good post!

There are certainly examples of this that we can probably quickly find :). Argument with passion, some sloppy (not knowing what a specific word means, for example) or not well-thought-out ideas, and maybe some personality issues cause for bitter debate.

On a few other sites, we've both seen where "the" answer quickly turns into fixed-position arguing. Or use of talking points - including those taken from a quick google search!

Or we see "gotcha" style arguments that confuse or deflect discussion.

Or how when a position gets challenged in good faith, it immediately becomes personal.

Some of these behaviors certainly influence which sites I frequent and which ones I've stopped checking out.......

This is why I've always found discussions that focus on history and historical events to be the most interesting!

(remember the Middle Ages day from a few years ago?)

hope your foot is better!

cheers,
VM

20 March, 2007 10:37

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