A lot depends on the X, and the implications of X, and whether EITHER of you have evidence for or against it. There are plenty of topics that really aren’t motivated by empirical predictions and evidence. Those tend to be very frustrating to try to use Bayes’ Rule on.
Many social or religious statements, for instance, are not claims as such. They’re framed as truth, but are really moral axioms or faith-based frameworks of thought. My general advice: let it go, you probably can’t convince them, nor can they convince you. Truth-seeking is not the mode of communication you’re in.
@Dagon: Please note that in the example, above, A asserts: “X is an empirical claim and X is true!” I concur with A’s assertion that “”X is an empirical claim”. This is not a matter of normative “social or religious statements”.
Your observation that normative claims are often “framed as truth” is well taken. The use of “truth” to describe both empirical and normative claims is the source of much confusion and facilitates the use of the Fallacy of Equivocation.
I find your advice to “let it go” in this matter, of refuting an evidence-free empirical claim, to be unacceptable and inconsistent with truth-seeking.
A lot depends on the X, and the implications of X, and whether EITHER of you have evidence for or against it. There are plenty of topics that really aren’t motivated by empirical predictions and evidence. Those tend to be very frustrating to try to use Bayes’ Rule on.
Many social or religious statements, for instance, are not claims as such. They’re framed as truth, but are really moral axioms or faith-based frameworks of thought. My general advice: let it go, you probably can’t convince them, nor can they convince you. Truth-seeking is not the mode of communication you’re in.
@Dagon: Please note that in the example, above, A asserts: “X is an empirical claim and X is true!”
I concur with A’s assertion that “”X is an empirical claim”. This is not a matter of normative “social or religious statements”.
Your observation that normative claims are often “framed as truth” is well taken. The use of “truth” to describe both empirical and normative claims is the source of much confusion and facilitates the use of the Fallacy of Equivocation.
I find your advice to “let it go” in this matter, of refuting an evidence-free empirical claim, to be unacceptable and inconsistent with truth-seeking.