What I think we’re in danger of forgetting is that, anywhere but Less Wrong, “That’s offensive!” is actually a really persuasive argument. People who blithely ignore even the strongest of evidence will often shut up and look stupid if you successfully play the offense card. PC arguments may be so commonly heard, not because they are the “best” (most valid) arguments that could be made in support of a given assertion, but because they totally work.
If someone says, with no factual basis at all, that members of Group X murder children, piles and piles of evidence may not be enough to make the claim go away, but if you can convince people that to say so is offensive and Anti-X, you’re home free. So why bother presenting the evidence?
“You’re wrong” implies “you’re a liar,” or a more direct response could be “that’s a lie.” If the goal is to make someone look stupid, this can work better. Admittedly that’s not always a major goal, cases won’t overlap, etc.
But I think we do see people make fact-citing arguments that are delivered in the tone of “that’s offensive”, so the methods aren’t mutually exclusive. For example, any argument beginning “There is no scientific evidence that...” in an appropriately shrill tone sends the message that offense is taken and sidesteps the logical evidence to highlight the strongest available evidence, the absence of scientific evidence.
Even if the offense argument is explicit, factual arguments could at least be added to it.
What I think we’re in danger of forgetting is that, anywhere but Less Wrong, “That’s offensive!” is actually a really persuasive argument. People who blithely ignore even the strongest of evidence will often shut up and look stupid if you successfully play the offense card. PC arguments may be so commonly heard, not because they are the “best” (most valid) arguments that could be made in support of a given assertion, but because they totally work.
If someone says, with no factual basis at all, that members of Group X murder children, piles and piles of evidence may not be enough to make the claim go away, but if you can convince people that to say so is offensive and Anti-X, you’re home free. So why bother presenting the evidence?
“You’re wrong” implies “you’re a liar,” or a more direct response could be “that’s a lie.” If the goal is to make someone look stupid, this can work better. Admittedly that’s not always a major goal, cases won’t overlap, etc.
But I think we do see people make fact-citing arguments that are delivered in the tone of “that’s offensive”, so the methods aren’t mutually exclusive. For example, any argument beginning “There is no scientific evidence that...” in an appropriately shrill tone sends the message that offense is taken and sidesteps the logical evidence to highlight the strongest available evidence, the absence of scientific evidence.
Even if the offense argument is explicit, factual arguments could at least be added to it.