There seem to be separate failure conditions here though. You could fail because you’re too emotionally invested in your view, or you could fail because you can spot the flaws in all the arguments for the opposing view. If your original view was actually right, then you’re not at fault.
Since this can be hard to distinguish from motivated cognition, I think the exercise is questionably useful.
I don’t think the point of the exercise is to successfully defend the opposing point of view but to make a good-faith attempt to come up with an argument for it without getting your original emotions involved. If you can conjure up a coherent argument for the opposing side (allowing for a slightly different set of priors), that’s some evidence that you’re looking at consequences rather than being strung along by motivated cognition. If you can’t—and this is pretty common—that’s good evidence that the opposing view has been reduced to a caricature in your mind.
It’s a litmus test for color politics, in other words. Not a perfect one, but it doesn’t have to be.
There seem to be separate failure conditions here though. You could fail because you’re too emotionally invested in your view, or you could fail because you can spot the flaws in all the arguments for the opposing view. If your original view was actually right, then you’re not at fault.
Since this can be hard to distinguish from motivated cognition, I think the exercise is questionably useful.
I don’t think the point of the exercise is to successfully defend the opposing point of view but to make a good-faith attempt to come up with an argument for it without getting your original emotions involved. If you can conjure up a coherent argument for the opposing side (allowing for a slightly different set of priors), that’s some evidence that you’re looking at consequences rather than being strung along by motivated cognition. If you can’t—and this is pretty common—that’s good evidence that the opposing view has been reduced to a caricature in your mind.
It’s a litmus test for color politics, in other words. Not a perfect one, but it doesn’t have to be.