I think it will be next to impossible to set up a community norm around this issue for all communities save those with a superhuman level of general honesty. For if there is a norm like this in place, Alice always has a strong incentive to pretend that she is punching based on some generally accepted theory, and that the only thing that needs arguing is the application of this theory to Bob (point 2). Even when there is in fact a new piece of theory ready to be factored out of Alice’s argument, it is in Alice’s interest to pass this off as being a straightforward application of some more general principle rather than anything new, and she will almost certainly be able to convincingly pass it off as such.
As soon as there is a community norm around building your new punching theories separately from any actual punches, anyone who can argue that their justification for punching Bob doesn’t need any new theory, that is, that the justification follows trivially from accepted ideas, will have a that much stronger position. Thus, only the most scrupulous of punchers will ever actually implement step (1), and the norm will collapse.
To be clear, I think this is a good (prosocial) way for individuals to act. I’m not trying to advocate that we should make it a community norm.
But I’m unconvinced by this particular failure mode.
if there is a norm like this in place, Alice always has a strong incentive to pretend that she is punching based on some generally accepted theory, and that the only thing that needs arguing is the application of this theory to Bob (point 2).
Surely this incentive exists anyway for Alice? There’s no existing norm against what I propose.
she will almost certainly be able to convincingly pass it off as such.
I don’t see why this would be. At least not any general principle that her readers will be familiar with and agree with, which is what would be required.
I’m not suggesting that after Alice publishes part (2), people who don’t think “punching Bob is better than the alternatives” should punch Bob. Alice doesn’t just need to convince people that there is an argument for punching Bob, she needs to convince people to punch Bob.
I think it will be next to impossible to set up a community norm around this issue for all communities save those with a superhuman level of general honesty. For if there is a norm like this in place, Alice always has a strong incentive to pretend that she is punching based on some generally accepted theory, and that the only thing that needs arguing is the application of this theory to Bob (point 2). Even when there is in fact a new piece of theory ready to be factored out of Alice’s argument, it is in Alice’s interest to pass this off as being a straightforward application of some more general principle rather than anything new, and she will almost certainly be able to convincingly pass it off as such.
As soon as there is a community norm around building your new punching theories separately from any actual punches, anyone who can argue that their justification for punching Bob doesn’t need any new theory, that is, that the justification follows trivially from accepted ideas, will have a that much stronger position. Thus, only the most scrupulous of punchers will ever actually implement step (1), and the norm will collapse.
To be clear, I think this is a good (prosocial) way for individuals to act. I’m not trying to advocate that we should make it a community norm.
But I’m unconvinced by this particular failure mode.
Surely this incentive exists anyway for Alice? There’s no existing norm against what I propose.
I don’t see why this would be. At least not any general principle that her readers will be familiar with and agree with, which is what would be required.
I’m not suggesting that after Alice publishes part (2), people who don’t think “punching Bob is better than the alternatives” should punch Bob. Alice doesn’t just need to convince people that there is an argument for punching Bob, she needs to convince people to punch Bob.